Ransilu brings fame to Kandy and Sri Lanka

By Shamseer Jaleel

Power lifting sensation of Kandy and Sri Lanka, Ransilu Jayatillake brought honour to his hometown, Kandy and Sri Lanka when he won six gold medals in two separate competitions in power lifting at the Commonwealth Games organised by the World Power Lifting Federation which took place in Vancouver, Canada recently.

Former Kingswoodina, Ransilu Jayatillake who had his training in both power lifting and weightlifting at the Kandy Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) under his father’s guidance. His father, Mohotilal Jayatillake, was a national hero too, representing the country in as many as four sports. He also was the Physical Fitness Coach of Kingswood, Science and Navy SC in Rugby Football.

Ransilu Jayatillake’s first championship event was the Row Championship. Competing in the under 105 KG segment.

Squat (255 kg) – Gold medal

Dead lift (305 kg) – Gold medal

Total (680 kg) – Silver medal

Competing in the 120 kg Ransilu achieved the following:

Squat (220 kg) – Gold medal

Bench press (140 kg) – Gold medal

Dead lift (300 kg) – Gold medal

Ransilu, who is a high performer in the iron and at the Commonwealth Games Weightlifting Championship held in Samoa in 2012, won two Gold medals in the junior category and was the first Sri Lankan to win a medal in weightlifting in this competition. In 2011, when he lifted 300 kg in weightlifting, he became the first Sri Lankan to reach the triple century mark. He started weighting at the age of ten and has set up over 100 records when he graduated from the teens to the national and international level. In power lifting, he has set up over 30 records and is presently the power lifter with the highest lift. He is also a physical trainer and has trained many rugby clubs and rugby playing schools.