Sri Lanka’s promising sprinters eye Olympic berth

After a lapse of 5 years, Sri Lanka Athletics witnessed the emergence of promising abilities within the males’s and girls’s 4x100m relay squads through the Relay Trials organized for the upcoming inaugural Asian Relay Championship. on April 10 on the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, these trials confirmed off the distinctive performances of latest faces, setting the stage for Sri Lanka’s participation within the championship scheduled for Might 20 and 21 in Thailand.

Among the many spectacular performers was Kavindu Chathuranga, clinching the lads’s 100m title with a seasonal better of 10.59. Regardless of his tenure within the sport, Chathuranga’s victory marked a major breakthrough. Following carefully behind was schoolboy Dineth Induwara from Leeeds’ Worldwide College Matara, securing second place with a time of 10.61, additionally a seasonal

greatest. Nonetheless, seasoned nationwide champion Chamod Yodasinghe confronted adversity resulting from sickness, ending seventh with a time of 10.72.

Within the ladies’s 100m occasion, Amasha de Silva lived as much as expectations by claiming victory with a time of 11.95. Notably, Tharushi Karunaratne, Asian Video games 800m Gold medalist, returned to competitors after a six-month hiatus and triumphed within the ladies’s 400m race, clocking a seasonal better of 53.40.

Her brother, Harsha Karunaratne, additionally demonstrated his prowess by securing third place within the males’s 400m race. Each siblings are set to signify Sri Lanka on the Asian Relay Championship.

Rumeshika Ratnayake, an Asian Video games 200m medalist, exhibited versatility by collaborating within the ladies’s 400m occasion for the primary time, securing second place with a private greatest time of 54.70, carefully trailing Tharushi Karunaratne.

Following their gold medal feat on the 2019 South Asian Video games in Nepal, Sri Lanka had abstained from males’s and girls’s 4x100m relays in worldwide competitions. Nonetheless, the resurgence witnessed on the Relay Trials signaled a rejuvenation in Sri Lankan sprinting. Notably, Amasha de Silva stays the only real member from the ladies’s 4x100m quartet, whereas Chanuka Dharmakeerthi represents the lads’s staff, with the rest comprising contemporary abilities.

Athletic consultants hailed the efficiency of Sri Lankan sprinters, emphasizing the numerous alternative offered by their success. With solely two spots out there for the Males’s 4x400m relays and Combined 4x400m relay on the Olympics, Sri Lanka stands a powerful likelihood to safe a berth for the 2024 Paris Summer time Olympics by the Asian Relay Championship on Might 20 and 21 in Thailand.

Within the 100m Males’s occasion, RPKN Chathuranga emerged victorious with a seasonal greatest time of 10.59 seconds, carefully adopted by Dineth Induwara with 10.61 seconds, additionally a seasonal greatest. Deneth Senanayake secured third place with a private greatest time of 10.62 seconds. The race witnessed intense competitors, with Chanuka Dharmakeerthi ending fourth with 10.63 seconds, and Chalith Piumal additionally clocking 10.63 seconds, a private greatest.

DPH Gamlath completed sixth with a private better of 10.69 seconds, whereas Chamod Yodasinghe completed seventh with 10.72 seconds.

Within the 100m Girls’s class, Amasha Silva claimed victory with a time of 11.95 seconds. Shafiya Yamic secured second place with a seasonal better of 11.99 seconds, adopted by Dinara Bandara Dela with 12.21 seconds, additionally a seasonal greatest. Anuruddika Muthukumarana completed fourth with 12.27 seconds, alongside HKTD Silva and Medhani Jayamanme, additionally clocking 12.27 seconds.

Lakshika Sugandi completed seventh with 12.31 seconds, adopted by Shenella Seneviratne with 12.41 seconds, and HKDS Ranasgalla with 12.46 seconds. Within the 400m Males’s occasion, Rajitha Rajakaruna claimed victory with a time of 46.72 seconds, adopted carefully by Dinuka Deshan with 46.74 seconds. Harsha Karunaratna secured third place with 47.20 seconds, adopted by Isuru Lakshan with 47.25 seconds and Ishan Maduranga with 47.68 seconds. ASM Safan completed sixth with a private greatest time of 48.53 seconds.

Tharushi Karunaratne triumphed within the 400m Girls’s race with a seasonal better of 53.40 seconds. Rumeshika Ratnayake confirmed her expertise by securing second place with a private better of 54.70 seconds. Nishendra Fernando completed third with a seasonal better of 55.95 seconds, adopted by Shafiya Yamic with 56.26 seconds, additionally a private greatest. WHM Fernando clocked 56.36 seconds, adopted by WKLA Nimali with 56.39 seconds, each reaching seasonal bests. Shanika Lakshani completed seventh with a time of 57.24 seconds.

Sajeewa Jayakody