Ahmedabad, India, October 6 (ePRESS) – Sri Lanka’s teenage artistic swimmer Venuki Wijesena delivered a landmark performance at the 11th Asian Aquatics Championship held at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, India, finishing fifth in the Women’s Solo Free Final — the best-ever result achieved by a Sri Lankan in the event’s history.
The 16-year-old’s total of 156.8588 points also stands as Sri Lanka’s highest score ever recorded in the Solo Freestyle event at any level, setting a new national benchmark for technical and artistic excellence.
Kazakstan’s Karina Magrupova claimed the gold with 202.8900 points, Singapore’s Thean Rachel took silver with 201.5639, and Uzbekistan’s Sabina Makhmudova earned bronze with 184.4525. China’s Yang Ziruo scored 182.6750, narrowly missing the podium but finishing ahead of the Sri Lankan teenager.
Two days earlier, Venuki had already made the nation proud with a fifth-place finish in the Women’s Solo Technical Final, amassing 185.9999 points. Her consistent performance marks a historic moment for Sri Lanka in Asian artistic swimming.
