Dilip, Ajith ,Manjula advance forward -AAC2017

Two 400m runner , Dilip Ruwan and Ajith Premakumara with high Jumper Manjula Kumara Wijesekara advance forward from their qualification round worked off in the day one morning of the 22nd Asian Athletics Championship 2017 worked off at Bhubaneswar,Odisha on Thursday .

competing on the first heat ,Dilip Ruwan produce well balanced 46.58 seconds beating India’s Olympian Muhamad Anas to advance to afternoon semi-finals. Ajith finished second behind another of India’s 400m runner Arokia Rajiv clocking 46.82 seconds .

Manjula Kumara  needed just one attempt to clear qualification height of 2.10m where he too advanced to the finals .

All three podium finishers of 400m at last Asian Championship Qatar’s  Abdelilah Haroun Hassan , Saudi Arabia’s Yousef Ahmed Masrahi  who is serving a drug ban and Japanese Kentaro Sato  did not take part in the race where both Sri Lankan runners has chance of finishing in the podium in the much looked forward 400m final as 4X400m relay.

Meanwhile in high jump, Asia’s best high jumper ,Olympic Silver medalist and former world champion  Mutaz Barshim of Qatar is not taking part in the high jump even though his brother Muammar Barshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifk5Sbr_kAshim is.

five other Sri Lankan wil be in action in the afternoon where Two of South Asia’s fastest male/female runners Himasha Eashan and Rumeshika Rathnayake, together with present fastest man Vinoj Suranjaya de Silva, will eye Asian glory in the short sprint in the 100m round one scheduled to be held at 6.15 p.m. and 6.45 p.m.

in the only final of day where Sri Lankan athlete competing ,Dilhani Lekamge will try to emulate her former training partner Nadeeka Lakmali’s 2013 feat in the women’s Javelin Throw which is set to start at 7.45 p.m. Dilhani who is competing in her second Asian Athletics Championship, will remember her former senior training partner Nadeeka Lakmali’s silver medal feat in 2013, but she will have to perform at least 3 metres better than her personal best to finish on the podium.

both Ajith and Dilip too will compete in their semis in the afternoon while Nirmali Madushika will compete in the 400m women’s semis