Records tumble as Gampaha District emerge champs…..

kit-sports editor — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 01:28:56 +0000

A total of 13 new meet records were established while Gampaha District bagged major honours to carry away the overall championship of the 27th National Youth Sports Festival while Kurunegala and Colombo Districts finished second and third respectively at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Diyagama, Homagama yesterday.

Long jumper Danushka Sandaruwan and triple jumpers Vidusha Lakshani and Chamal Kumarasiri showed their excellence during the rain hit final day at Diyagama to claim the best athlete titles of their respective age groups.

University of Sri Jayewardenepura undergraduate Sandaruwan who represented Gampaha District, cleared 7.78 metres in the men’s over 20 long jump to rewrite the record books to seal the over-20 best male athlete’s award to warm up ahead of the South Asian Games trials to be worked off in three weeks time.

Asian Youth Championship Silver medalist, Chamal Kumarasiri (Gampaha District), continued his record breaking streak when he cleared 15.67 metres in the boys under-20 triple jump to set a new meet record, and sealed the boys under 20 best athlete’s award.

The women’s triple jump National record holder Vidusha Lakshani who represented Gampaha District was not at her best, but managed to win the gold medal with her jump of 12.84 metres which was more than enough for her to seal the girls under-20 best female athlete’s award.

Sprint star Chandrika Rasnayake of Kurunegala District who won triple gold medals in the 200m, 400m and was part of the 4×400 metres relay team, enjoyed her second consecutive women’s over 20 best athlete award, following her record breaking performance of 54.31 seconds in the women’s 400 metres event. All four best athletes were awarded motor cycles each.

Apart from the above mentioned two jumping records, Gampaha District men’s over 20 and under 20 4x400m relay teams set new meet records on the day (2:16.53 sec and 3:22.30 sec).

In the other event of the day, Kurunegala District athlete Nishanthi Dilhani Fernando sealed her third gold medal when she won the girls’ under-20 1500 metres final. She was the winner of under-10 women’s 400 metres and 800 metres finals too.

Kegalle District produced the fastest athlete of the meet when H.L. Minimuthu clocked 10.96 seconds to win the men’s under-20 100 metres final, while Ranmini Madushika of Gampaha District clocked 12.49 seconds to win the women’s over-20 100 metres and become the fastest woman of the three-day championship.

Youth Athletes in a quandary Only 4 out of 13 qualified athletes listed

kit-sports editor — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 01:38:34 +0000

Youth athletes were left in a quandary as the Athletics Association (AASL) has decided to send only four athletes for the IAAF World Youth Championship even though 13 youth (under 18) athletes have achieved required qualifying standards.
The Championship will be held from 15th to 19th July at Cali, Colombia.
“For now we have decided to send four medalists of the 1st Asian Youth Athletics championship for the world event” said Saman Kumara, long serving recorder of the Athletics Association.
“But since there are request from others , we are going to sit down at a meeting on Thursday (today) and decide whether we are adding more to the team, and we may select two more from the best performance of the rest except the said four” said Saman Kumara.
Nevertheless, out of 13 there are three 400m runners, three 200m runners and three 400m hurdlers, where top 400m hurdler Dharshan Rajapaksha, who won the silver medal at Asian youth, has been selected for the world event while the rest have been neglected.
Many athletes peaked after the Asian Youth Championship, and athletes such as Gateway sprinter Asiri Wijesekara clocked a personal best of 21.88 seconds in the 200m during the Junior Nationals in late May, which could have well secured a medal for him during Asian Youth. Removing such an athlete from world showpiece would just be a loss to the country.
Bens 400m sprinter Supun Nimansa, who clocked 49.05 seconds in the recently concluded John Tarbat championship, is another who could perform impressively if the standard of competition is superior, such as at the World Youth.
According to the athletes and coaches who have not been selected for the tour, they are even ready to finance their own expenses through their schools and other means if the Association and Sports Ministry are not ready to fund them for the meet, which will be an invaluable experience for their career and once in a lifetime opportunity which would inspire them in their future.
According to analysts, Sri Lanka has one of the best youth teams this year, as they performed remarkably well for their age during competitions, with repeated impressive performances. Athletes expect AASL will follow the same procedure they did in the last two editions of World Youth Championship in 2011 and 2013, where they sent all qualified athletes for the world event.
Selected athletes
Yamani Dulanjali
(400m hurdle-60.92 sec, 200m-24.82 sec and 400m-57.03 sec)
Dammika Ranathunga (High jump- 2.12m)
Chamal Kumarasiri
(Triple jump-15.39m)
Darshana Rajapaksha (400m hurdle-52.87 sec)
Athletes who have reached qualifying standards but not selected
Asiri Wijesekara
(200m-21.88 sec)
Sachith Perera
(200m-22.12 sec)
SM Safran (200m-22.14 sec)
Supun Nimansa
(400m-49.05 sec)
Nidula Jayawardene
(400m-49.05 sec)
Mohammad Hamzan
(400m 49.25 sec )
Uditha Chandrasena
(400m hurdle- 53.04 sec)
Anura Dharshana
(400m hurdle 54.54 sec)
Ushan Thivanka
(High Jump-2.06m)

KitSports » Chamal Kumarasiri

Records tumble as Gampaha District emerge champs…..

Youth Athletes in a quandary Only 4 out of 13 qualified athletes listed