Sri Lanka Air Force wrestler Nipuni Wasana Dharmadasa has won Sri Lanka’s first gold medal at the 6th Asian Beach Games in China after defeating her Vietnamese opponent in the women’s 50kg final.
The Air Force confirmed the result on Wednesday, calling it Sri Lanka’s maiden gold at the 2026 edition of the multi-sport regional event. Wasana represents the Sri Lanka Air Force on the national wrestling roster.
The medal is the first podium finish for the Sri Lankan contingent at this edition of the Games, which is being held in China. The country sent a 17-athlete delegation across multiple disciplines under the Sri Lanka Olympic Committee banner — covered in LankaNewz reporting on the team’s departure.
The Asian Beach Games is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia and features non-traditional and beach-format versions of mainstream Olympic sports, alongside disciplines unique to the regional competition. Wrestling is contested under the United World Wrestling regulations adapted for the beach format.
Wasana’s win comes after the election of Asanga Seneviratne as the new President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka on April 25, marking a governance change at the top of the country’s Olympic body just as a new generation of athletes is delivering medal returns in China.
The Sri Lanka Air Force has historically supplied a significant share of the country’s combat-sport medallists, with wrestling, boxing and taekwondo athletes drawn from the service’s sports unit.
Wasana returned to Sri Lanka on May 2 and was welcomed at Bandaranaike International Airport by officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Department of Sports Development, the National Olympic Committee and senior Sri Lanka Air Force officers. Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage said in a Facebook post that the gold “adds a moment of profound pride to our nation’s sporting history” and called it “a clear testament to the success of the ‘Mission Olympic’ programme initiated by our Ministry.”
