SL looking for Gold since 2009
he 22nd Asian Athletics Championship will mark its beginning today with the grand opening ceremony which will start at 6.00 p.m. here in Kalinga Stadium Bhubaneswar.
The Championship will see the best of Asia battling it out for Asian Glory, where the winner of each event will automatically qualify for the IAAF World Championship to be held from 4-13 August.
Sri Lanka sent a strong 23 member team for the event, but with the recent development regarding Pradeep Ruwan Kumara’s doping incident there will be 22 members who will eye the podium in the coming four days of competitions from tomorrow.
It’s been 8 years since Sri Lanka won their last Gold medal which came from current team captain Manjula Kumara Wijesekara in the 2009 edition. In the last edition the islanders sealed just one medal when Nimali Liyanarachchi won Bronze in the 800m in Wuhan, China, and they will be eyeing to increase that count this year.
Sri Lanka has some promising athletes who can bring glory, such as 800m duo Gayanthika Abeyrathne and Nimali Liyanarachchi, along with Javelin Thrower Waruna Lakshani, men’s 800m runner Indunil Herath and sprinters, who all stand a good chance of winning medals, but their main threat will be African and South American athletes who have changed their allegiance and now representing Qatar and Bahrain.
Sri Lanka’s most successful medal tally came 17 years ago at the Jakarta Asian Championship in 2000, where SL sealed four Gold medals and one Silver medal.
Team :
- Danuka Liyanapathirana (Long Jump)
- Vinoj Suranjaya de Silva (100m, 200m, 4x100m)
- Ajith Premakumara (400m, 4x400m)
- Dilip Ruwan (400m, 4×400,)
- Manjula Kumara Wijesekara (High Jump)
- Waruna Lakshan Dayarathne (Javelin Throw)
- Himasha Eashan (100m,4x100m)
- Indunil Herath (800m) 1:49.21 sec
- Sanjaya Jayasinghe (Triple Jump)
- Tharusha Dananjaya (4x400m)
- Kalinga Kumarage (4x400m)
- Shehan Ambepitiya (4x100m)
- Mohammad Ashrafu (4x100m)
- Mohammad Safran (4x100m
- Dilhani Lekamge (Javelin Throw)
- Rumeshika Rathnayaka (100m,200m )
- Gayanthika Abeyrathne (800m)
- Nimali Liyanarachchi (800m)
- Vidusha Lakshani (Triple Jump)
- Nilani Rathnayaka (3000m Steeple Chase)
- Nirmali Madushika (400m)
- Dulanjali Ranasinghe (High Jump
SRI LANKAN MEDAL WINNERS
at the Asian Athletics Championships
1975 SEOUL W. Wimaladasa 4X400 M. (M) Bronze 3:13.4
A.C. Dervin Perera
Bandula Jayasinghe
- Premachandra
1991 KUALA LAMPUR Vijitha Amarasekara Javelin Throw (W) Bronze 50.90
1993 MANILA Damayanthi Dharsha 200 M. (W) Silver 23.29
M.A.Sriyani Kulawansa 100 M. Hur. (W) Silver 13.38
Sugath Thilakaratne 4X400 M. (M) Bronze 3:10.49
K.P. Susantha
Damith De Silva
H.P.M. Gunawardana
- Dhammika Manike 800 M. (M) Bronze 2:04.92
1995 JAKARTA Susanthika Jayasinghe 200 M. (W) Gold 23.00 (New Record)
M.A.Sriyani Kulawansa 100 M. Hur. (W) Gold 13.29
Susanthika Jayasinghe 100 M. (W) Silver 11.37
Sugath Thilakaratne 400 M. (M) Bronze 46.12
V Rathna Kumar 4X400 M. (M) Bronze 3:07.87
Suresh Dematapitiya
SR Rathnadeepa
Sugath Thilakaratne
1998 FUKUOKA Sugath Thilakaratne 400 M. (M) Gold 44.61 (New Record)
Damayanthi Dharsha 400 M. (W) Gold 51.23
V Rathna Kumar 4X400 M. (M) Bronze 3:05.79
Ranga Wimalawansa
Rohan Pradeep Kumara
Sugath Thilakaratne
M.A.Sriyani Kulawansa 100 M. Hur. (W) Bronze 13.16
2000 JAKARTA V Rathna Kumar 4X400 M. (M) Gold 3:02.71
Ranga Wimalawansa
Manura Lanka Perera
Rohan Pradeep Kumara
Damayanthi Dharsha 200 M. (W) Gold 22.84 (New Record)
Damayanthi Dharsha 400 M. (W) Gold 51.05 (New Record)
Tamara Saman Deepika 4X100 M. (W) Gold 44.23
Pradeepa Herath
S Nimmi De Soysa
Damayanthi Dharsha
HAR Rathnayake 400 M. Hur. (M) Silver 49.44
2002 COLOMBO Prasanna Amarasekara 4X400 M. (M) Gold 3:03.35
Ranga Wimalawansa
Sugath Thilakaratne
Rohan Pradeep Kumara
Susanthika Jayasinghe 100 M. (W) Gold 11.29
Susanthika Jayasinghe 200 M. (W) Gold 22.84 (Eq. Record)
M.A.Sriyani Kulawansa 100 M. Hur. (W) Silver 13.43
Sugath Thilakaratne 400 M. (M) Bronze 45.73
Damayanthi Darsha 4X400 M. (W) Bronze 3:42.71
KLL Gunawardana
Swarnamali Edirisinghe
MP Wickramasinghe
2003 MANILA Prasanna Amarasekara 4X400 M. (M) Gold 3:03.05
Ranga Wimalawansa
Sugath Thilakaratne
Rohan Pradeep Kumara
Sujeewa N Jayasena 10000 M. (W) Silver 34:47.0
Anne Maheshi De Silva Javelin (W) Bronze 50.18
2005 INCHEON WP Manjula Kumara High Jump (M) Gold 2.27
Damayanthi Dharsha 200 M. (W) Gold 23.21
Prasannna Amarasekara 400 M. (M) Silver 46.48
Rohitha Pushpa Kumara 4X400 M. (M) Silver 3:04.12
Manura Lanka Perera
Prasanna Amarasekara
Rohan Pradeep Kumara
Rohan Pradeep Kumara 400 M. (M) Bronze 46.52 Anne Maheshi De Silva Javelin (W) Bronze 54.86
2007 AMMAN Prasanna Amarasekara 400 M. (M) Gold 46.71 Susanthika Jayasinghe 100 M. (W) Gold 11.19
Susanthika Jayasinghe 200 M. (W) Gold 22.99
Asoka Jayasundara 4X400 M. (M) Silver 3:07.29
THD Priyashantha
Rohitha Pushpa Kumara
Prasanna Amarasekara
Sujani Buddika 200 M. (W) Silver 23.28 MP Wickramasinghe 400 M. (W) Bronze 54.11
BL Nadeeka Lakmali Javelin (W) Bronze 52.59
2009 GUANGZHOU WP Manjula Kumara High Jump (M) Gold 2.23 Chaminda Wijekoon 1500 M. (M) Silver 3:47.01
2011 KOBE Chandrika Subashini 400 M. (W) Silver 53.35
Chaminda Wijekoon 1500 M. (M) Bronze 3:44.01
Christine S Merril 400 M. Hur. (W) Bronze 57.30
2013 PUNE Sachith Maduranga Javelin (M) Silver 79.62
BL Nadeeka Lakmali Javelin (W) Silver 60.16
Anjana Gunaratne 4X400 M. (M) Bronze 3:04.92
WD Dilan Aloka
KKK Seneviratne
THD Priyashantha
2015 WUHAN Nimali Liyanaarachchi 800 M. (W) Bronze 2:03.94
Complied by GGU Saman Kumara
