Asian Athletics Championships
by Reemus Fernando
When the last Asian Athletics Championships was held in Doha four years ago Sri Lanka won a bronze in the women’s triple jump. Four years after that solitary medal achievement the country will be aiming for medals of different colour as it fields a 13 strong contingent including a couple of top ranked Asian athletes for the premier regional track and field event starting in Bangkok, Thailand on July 12.
The five-day event will feature some of the athletes who first excelled at the junior version of the event in 2018 and the 2023 edition held last month. Despite emerging as a bright prospect at the Asian Junior Championships in 2018, Aruna Dharshana could not compete at the senior Asian Championships held in 2019.But today he is the top medal prospect in the men’s category for Sri Lanka. He will compete in the 400metres and is expected to play a lead role in both the men’s 4x400metres and the 4×400 metres mixed relay.
His recent personal best performance of 45.49 seconds is the eighth fastest time in Asia this season and his coach Asanka Rajakaruna believes that the athlete hailing from Seruwila has enough energy in store to strive for success. In the men’s category Dharshana is joined by Rajitha Rajakaruna in the 400 metres as the selectors picked the latter ahead of second ranked Sri Lankan (in 400m) Kalinga Kumarage for the individual event on merit.
Kumarage too reached his personal best last month. In the quartet of Dharshana, Rajakaruna, Kumarage and Pabasara Niku, Sri Lanka has history’s fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh fastest athletes in the 400 metres. Sugath Thilakaratne, Rohan Pradeep Kumara and Prasanna Amarasekara are the only other Sri Lankans to have run faster than them.
Analysts believe that country’s best chances of medals in the men’s category are in the 4×400 metres as the top four have an average around 46 seconds. While Japan will be the top favourites in the 4×400 metres, Sri Lanka are expected to brush shoulders against Japanese, Indian and Saudi Arab sprinters for top honours in that event.
The 4×400 metres mixed relay presents a huge opportunity for Sri Lanka to make a strong bid for a medal as Tharushi Karunaratne and Nadeesha Ramanayake are in top form in the 400 metres.
Sri Lanka once won the gold and silver medals in the women’s 800 metres at these championships. The team has a strong chance of repeating the 2017 feat of Nimali Liyanarachchi and Gayanthika Abeyratne in Bangkok as Tharushi Karunaratne and Gayanthika Abeyratne are in top form.
They are the top two athletes in Asia this year after the duo produced a performance closer to breaking the veteran’s national record in March this year. Karunaratne is fresh from winning three medals at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships and will be eager to repeat the feat at the senior version of the meet. She is the only school athlete taking part.
Karunaratne will compete in the 800metres and the 400 metres and is expected to anchor the women’s 4×400 metres as well. Lakshima Mendis and Nishendra Fernando are the others joining Karunaratne and Ramanayake in the relay. Dilhani Lekamge will have a tough ask in the women’s javelin when she strives for her personal best against throwers from China, Japan and India. Sarangi Silva and Randi Cooray too will be eager to deliver their best in the women’s long jump and triple jump respectively.