A young lad with a different focus

Kumarage Krishmantha Asanga is a twenty one year old lad with a difference. Where others of his age would be focusing on employment, Asanga – an ardent devotee of the iron sport – has put his future career on hold and is instead concentrating on winning a gold medal at the 2010 commonwealth games to be held in India. He intends to devote his full attention to the task in hand and review the situation after that.

His is no pipe dream, for his credentials are very good. He is the current National Champion in the 56 kg Snatch, clean and Jerk event. Participating in the Asian Junior Championships in Thailand in 2002, he finished fourth in an event which was won by a Chinese- Incidentally, another weight lifter from the Kandy YMCA Ransilu Jayatilleka won a gold at this meet.

He also participated in the 2003 Pakistan Championships and the 2006 Commonwealth Junior Championship where the lifter from western Samoa won the gold medal. Asanga started the sport at the tender age of nine. However his attention was diverted for about two years when he dabbled in cricket at his Alma Mater Kingswood College. He opened the batting for the under fifteen side and kept wickets. But he found the latter task difficult and in 2000 returned to the sport he knew well and did best.
According to Asanga, the Kandy YMCA has all the required facilities to pressure his particular sport. Proteins, vitamins and the much needed special food in given to him by the YMCA. Asanga has been training six days per week, in training sessions lasting three hours, twice a day. This has been going on for the past three years.

He points out that the leading lifters basically emerge from Kandy and Polonnaruwa.He hails the pioneering efforts of S.A. Wijewickrema and his current mentor Athula Wijewickrema. The iron sport has made vast strides in Kandy primarily due to the untiring efforts and unflagging zeal of the Wijewickremas.

As for his opponents, Asanga points out that Kamal Bandara of the Polonnaruwa W.L.C. and he are 1-1 head to head. Kamal, who is being trained by the celebrated Chintana Vidanage, beat Asanga at this year's National Sports Festival. He plans to get his own back at the first possible opportunity.

Asanga has found a sponsor (Golden Key Credit Card) and between them and the YMCA, they make sure that the young lad’s every need is met. The Kandy YMCA has the distinction of having produced national champions such as Ransilu Jayatilleka, BKN Dayan, Manjula Wijeratne, NPK Herath and Indika Dissanaike in addition to K.K. Asanga.