COLOMBO, May 11 (ePRESS) – Sri Lanka’s teenage swimming sensation MF Muhammad of Zahira College has climbed to the top of the country’s current FINA points rankings after a remarkable display at the recently concluded three-day Selection Trial for the Asian Age Group Swimming Championship and Commonwealth Games, held at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool Complex in Colombo.
The 18-year-old swimmer earned an outstanding 731 FINA points in the 100m butterfly after clocking 54.89 seconds, making him the highest-ranked swimmer in Sri Lanka at present.
Muhammad, who trains at Killer Whale Aquatics, moved ahead of seasoned swimmer Akalanka Peiris, who collected 727 FINA points in the 100m freestyle at last month’s Australian Open Championship. He also surpassed Olympian Kyle Abeysinghe, who recorded 710 FINA points in the 100m freestyle at the 2025 National Long Course Championship.
Muhammad’s outstanding performances during the three-day trial also saw him establish two new national records in his favourite breaststroke events. He first shattered the 50m breaststroke national record with a superb timing of 29.03 seconds before renewing his own 200m breaststroke national record in 2:21.61.
The Zahira College swimmer once again proved his growing class on the international standard rankings and strengthened his position as one of Sri Lanka’s brightest young swimming talents.
Meanwhile, for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, Sri Lanka is expected to field only one male swimmer and one female swimmer, making the competition for selection extremely intense among the country’s leading swimmers.
