BANGKOK, Thailand, July 17 (ePRESS) – Sri Lanka’s leading swimmer MF Muhammad won the men’s 100m butterfly silver medal while Sakindu Pigera set a new national junior record on the opening day of the 12th Asian Age Group Aquatic Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
Competing in the boys’ 17-18 age group, Muhammad clocked 54.94 seconds in the A final to finish second behind Iran’s Mohammadmahdi Gholami, who won gold in 54.51. Vietnam’s Hoang Tan Ngoc took the bronze medal with a time of 55.10.
Muhammad’s silver medal gave Sri Lanka an encouraging start to the regional championship, which is being held at the Aquatics Centre of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT).
Pigera also produced an impressive performance by breaking the Sri Lanka junior national record in the boys’ under-15 400m freestyle.
The St. Joseph’s College, Colombo swimmer, who trains with Rainbow Aquatics, clocked 4:30.36 to erase the previous record of 4:33.04 set by S. Wattarantenna of St. Joseph’s College in 2022.
Another Sri Lankan swimmer, Jayden de Silva, achieved a personal best in his event, breaking the 57-second barrier for the first time with a time of 56.98 seconds to finish seventh overall in his age group.
