Iron Woman Sugandhi strikes gold again, going for third
Sri Lanka Iron Woman Lakshika Sugandhi sealed her second gold medal and finished the day well within reach of her third at the end of the second day of competition in the 97th National Athletics Championship held at Sugathadasa Stadium on Saturday.
Sugandhi, who clocked her personal best timing in the 100m hurdles to win her first gold medal on Friday, returned to the track early morning yesterday to clock 12.08 seconds against heavy wind of -3.0 m/s and emerge as national champion of the 100m sprint for the first time in her career.
Sugandhi was also leading in the heptathlon after the first day of competition, and has her sights set on her third gold medal in the championship.
“My prime target is to reach 5000 points in the heptathlon. If I can do it tomorrow, I will focus more on the 100m and 110m hurdles for a while, sidelining the heptathlon”, said Sugandhi after the race.
Defending national champion and SAG gold medalist Rumeshika Rathnayaka suffered an injury midway through the 100m sprint, which forced her to retire from competition thereafter: including participation in the 200m in the afternoon.
In the men’s 100m defending champion Himasha Eashan retained his title after a tape finish where both he and second placed Vinoj Suranjayade Silva clocked an identical time of 10.49 seconds.
Asian junior gold medalist Aruna Darshana clocked a seasonal best of 46.76 seconds with ease to win the 400m, while Nadeesha Ramanayaka clocked 53.11 seconds to win the women’s 400m.
Hiruni wins 10000m
US-based distance runner Hiruni Wijayarathne won her first ever national track event as she overcame all competition in the 10000m yesterday with a time of 35 minutes and 30 seconds. Hiruni, who represented Sri Lanka in several international events such as the World Championship and the Commonwealth Games, returned to Sri Lanka in order to qualify for the Sri Lanka team in upcoming international championships by competing in the NAC – a goal she achieved without much trouble, although Nilani Ariyadasa gave her a run for her money by keeping up with her until last round.
“It was good race, this Girl (Nilani) surprised me”, said Hiruni after the race. “I just wanted to win this as tomorrow’s (today) 5000m going to be a challenge. It was important for me to get acclimatized to the heat and humidity here prior to Doha’s World Championship.”
Meanwhile, Olympian Nadeeka Lakamli won the javelin throw at the NAC for the first time since 2016 as she registered a seasonal best of 57.19m.
“I had to go through surgery for a ligament injury which caused by the worn-out track at Diyagama Stadium and took a while to recover following that”, said Lakmali following her triumph.
In other events of the day Kupun Kushantha won the 1500m with an impressive timing of 3:47.61, while S.M. Fernando register a distance of 16.23m to win the Shot Put and K. Shanmugeshwaran overcame a stiff challenge from M.U. Kumara to win the 1000m by just 0.31 seconds.
Men’s Results
1500m: 1. Kupun Kushantha 3 minutes 47.61 seconds 2. Sanjeewa Lakmal 3:51.29 3. Tharaka Fonseka 3:55.39
Shot Put: 1. S.M. Fernando 16.23 seconds 2. Samitha Jayawardana 15.88 3. Joy Danushka Perera 15:08
100m: 1. Himasha Eashan 10.49 2. Suranjaya de Silva 10.49 3. Yupun Abeykoon 10.52
400m: 1. Aruna Darshana 46.76 2. Lakmal Gunarathne 47.18 N. Rajakaruna 47.49
10000m: 1. K. Shanmugeshwaran 31 minutes 00.46 seconds 2. M.U. Kumara 31:00.77 3. Kumara Bandara 31:00.98
High Jump: 1. Ushan Thiwanka Perera 2.13m 2. P.S. Tharuka 2.09m 3. I.U. Kumara 2:05
Hammer Throw: 1. Sisira Kumara 50.86m 2. A.S. Bandara 49.85m 3. S.R. Kumarasiri 49.11m
Women’s Results
10000m: 1. Hiruni Wijayarathne 35 minutes 30.00 seconds 2. Nilani Ariyadasa 35:42.3 3. Anusha Lamahewa 36:52.8
100m: 1. Lakshika Sugandhi 12.08 seconds (-0.3) 2. Amasha de Silva 12.20 3. Sharmila Jan 12.24
400m: 1. Nadeesha Ramanayaka 53.11 2. Kaushalya Madushani 54.30 3. Upamalika Rathnakumari 54.59
Javelin Throw: 1. Nadeeka Lakmali 57.19m 2. Dilhani Lekamge 50.62m 3. S.H. Sewwandi 46.96m
Shot Put: 1. Tharika Fernando 14.48m 2. Nadee Muthunayaka 13.05m 3. A.P. Kumari 12.27
Full Results and Schedule :- http://bit.ly/97Nationals
Videos :- http://bit.ly/2KCJUuK
