Manjula in to High Jump finals

High jumper Manjula Kumara Wijesekara did not seem to have great rhythm going in to the jumps but cleared 2.21m in his second attempt qualifying for the finals.
The most experience athlete of the track and field team Manjula was training in Sydney before the event but said competition there did not go as planned which left him injured ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m not 100 per cent fit, but managed to clear 2.21m with agonizing pain to go in to finals,” said Manjula after his event.
Competing in the qualification round, it was visible that he was in pain even when clearing 2.18m, a height he can clear with his warming up stride.
“I was injured during competition ahead of Commonwealth Games in Sydney. It was paining every time my foot touch the ground. But I am determined to clear the height anyhow to get in to the finals. Now I have more than a day to recover, do treatment and put up a better show in the finals,” said Manjula who also didn’t forget to thank the Athletic Association, NOC, Sports Ministry and Australian based coach Anula Costa for arranging his training in Sydney under an Australian coach.
In boxing, Ishan Bandara beat Yachen Cook of Nauru in the men’s 52kg round 16 match and was selected to the quarter-finals. In swimming, Matthew Abeysinghe clocked 22.65 seconds in the men’s 50m free style and set a new Sri Lanka record in the heats, but failed to qualify for the finals. In shooting Thathulage Fernando was placed 9th in the 10m Air Piston Men’s qualification, while Sanduni Perera was placed 15th in the qualification and could not qualify for the finals. Sprinter Rumeshika Rathnayake will be in action today in her 200m heats which will be worked off at 8.18 a.m. SL time, while Janaka Prasad Wimalasiri will compete in the long jump qualification round at 7.00 a.m. SL time.
Tomorrow Highlights
Athletics:
Rumeshika Rathnayake 200m heats 8.18 a.m.
Janaka Prasad Wimalasiri long jump qualification 7.00 a.m.
Boxing:
Men’s 46-49kg- Thiwanka Ranasinghe bt Berry Namri of Vanatu (Quarter-finals) 8.32 a.m.
Men’s 64Kg – Dinidu Saparamadu vs Janas Jonas of Namibia (Quarter-finals) 10.02 a.m.
Women’s 57Kg – Keshani Hansika vs Alexis Pritchard of New Zealand (Quarter-finals) 7.32 a.m.
Badminton:
Men’s Single Round of 64:- Niluka Karunaratne vs Christopher Eynon of Falkon Island 9.10 a.m.
Men’s Single Round of 64:- Dinuka Karunaratne vs Kervin Ghislain (Seychelles) 1.10 a.m.