Relay Gold elevates SL to 5th position
The Junior Men’s 4x400m relay team produced a third Gold medal as Sri Lanka finished their most successful Asian Junior campaign in history with nine medals (three Gold, four Silver and two Bronze), to finish overall fifth in the medals tally out of 35 countries at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship 2018 concluded in Gifu, Japan yesterday.
Men’s relay quartet comprising 400m individual Gold medal winner and record holder Aruna Darshana, Silver medalist Pasindu Kodikara, Ravishka Indrajith and Pabasara Niku, clocked 3 minutes 08 .70 seconds to win the Gold medal beating Thailand and Malaysia into second and third place.
Hosts Japan and South Asian rival India could not even get close to the SL junior team. After Pasindu powered SL to the front in the second lap following Niku’s first lap, it was Ravishka Indrajith who made the difference in the third lap (possibly the best), which created a huge lead. Aruna Darshana had no problem in bringing SL home safe after that to conclude the championship in emphatic fashion and create history. SL’s best medals tally before this edition of Asian Juniors was 6 medals with two Gold medals in 2012. Before this edition SL had only managed 20 medals from 18 previous editions.
The fourth and last day started with a surprise Silver medal from sprinter Amasha de Silva from Swarnamali GC Kandy in the 200m. The 100m Silver medalist was competing from lane 9 and was way behind coming off the bend, but her late surge helped her to win the second Silver medal with another personal best of 24.47 seconds.
Earlier the South Asian triple Gold medalist, who trains under Sanjeewa Weerakkody, won the Silver medal in the 100m with a personal best of 11.71 seconds.
Amasha then teamed up with Dilshi Kumarasinghe (who also won two medals – a Silver and a bronze), Romeshi Attidiya and Sachini Divyanjali in the girls 4x400m relay to produce another Bronze medal with a time of 3 minutes 45.16 seconds.
In the other events of the day High jumper Tharindu Dasun could not impress as he finished 8th in the event.
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Gold
Aruna Darshana 400m 45.79 seconds (New meet record, New SL Junior record)
Parami Wasanthi Marisstella 3000m Steeple Chase (10:21.54 seconds, New SL Junior record)
4x400m Men’s relay (Aruna Darshana , Pasindu Kodikara, Ravishka Indrajith ,Pabasara Niku)
Silver
Pasindu Kodikara 400m -46.96 seconds
Dilshi Kumarasinghe 400 – 54.03 seconds (PB, New SL junior record)
Amasha de Silva 100m -11.71 seconds PB
Amasha de Silva 200m-24.47 seconds PB
Bronze
Dilshi Kumarasinghe 800m 2:04.53 seconds (PB, New SL Junior record)
4x400m Relay 3:45.16 sec (Dilshi Kumarasinghe, Romeshi Attidiya, Amasha De Silva , Sachini Divyanjali)
