Sarangi shines as Nadeesha , Kalinga make winning returns
New Meet Record by Long jumper Sarangi Silva and winning returns by two sprinters, Nadeesha Ramanayaka and Kalinga Kumarage were the best highlights as the 98th National Athletics Championship 2020 set in motion at Sugathadasa Stadium on Boxing Day.
The 24-year jumper from Sumangala BV Panadura was eyeing to shatter the Sri Lanka record of 6.43m set by Chami Priyadarshani back in 2015 but fell short of 10cm.
Nevertheless, she shattered the meet record of 6.32m jointly owned by Chami Priyadarshani (2010) and India’s Anju B Marcos (1999). There were only five competitors for the event, which did not help the course as they had six back to back jumps, without a proper break to catch their breath. The entire event did not even last long for half an hour. The heavy headwind neither did help their course. Sarangi led the competition with a 6.07m leap while Anjani Pulwansa was close behind with a 6.06m leap, both battling the lack of rest and headwind. Then South Asian Gold medalist, Sarangi leapt seasonal best of 6.33m, her second career-best performance to seal the National title in the last attempt though she wasn’t pleased about the performance.
“I couldn’t achieve my personal best. The wind did not help it. Also, competing with only five athletes was challenging. We even made a request to the referee asking for a bit more rest in between“, Sarangi commented after the event.
Meanwhile, men’s long jump too had a similar feat, with the headwind of -2.4m/s cutting the progress of Sri Lankan Triple jump record holder Sreshan Dhananjaya who won the event with a 7.71m leap. The event did not have the trill which it once had, owing to the absence of top contestants like Amila Jayasiri, Prasad Wimalasiri and Danushka Sandaruwan.
Jayasiri and Wimalasiri did not compete due to injury and lack of preparation, while Sandaruwan who is studying in the USA did not make the trip.
Nadeesha wins Gold in return
Nadeesha Ramanayaka broke the shackles of hurtful 2019 memories with a winning return, clocking personal best of 24.15 seconds to win the 200m. Nadeesha, who missed out on a possible double Gold medal during the South Asian Games due to Dengue fever, where she spent her time in Nepal, mostly on a hospital bed, was itching to make a strong come back to the track but had to wait more than a year due to the covid19 outbreak. Safiya Yamic showed her capabilities, clocking a personal best of 24.30 seconds to win the Silver medal, while S.H.Fernando clocked 24.83 seconds to win the bronze medal.
Kalinga returns to win 200m
Kalinga Kumarage, the 28-year old sprinter from Army, had disappointing two years as he was caught in a Doping scandal in 2018 which cost him the entire 2019 before he was cleared after a lengthy legal battle. And then he had to wait another year to make a return due to Covid19, but when he got the chance, he showed his potential clocking 21.08 seconds in the heat before running a sizzling 20.79 seconds in the final to win the title. But the favourable wind of +2.4 m/s meant he was denied the chance of owning the meet record.
Sri Lanka record holder Vinoj Suranjaya de Silva clearly showed that he had gained a few kilos during the break and was out of form when he finished 6th, clocking a mediocre 21.69 seconds. A.S.M.Safan finished second with 21.41 seconds while SAG Gold medalist in 400m, Aruna Darshana lagged in the first 100m and finished third with 21.49 seconds.
Both Kalinga and Nadeesha will return to the track on 29th, Tuesday eyeing for the personal best time in 400m while being up against two SAG gold medalists in 400m, Aruna Darshana Dilshi Kumarasinghe.
In the other events of the day, Sumedha Ranasinghe won the Javelin Throw with 76.10m while Samith Fernando won the Shot put with 16.12m. Nilani Rathnayaka, who is within the qualification quota for the Olympics, was hoping for a better performance to increase her world ranking points during the meet. But she could not achieve that as she finished with 10 minutes 15.86 seconds to win the 3000m steeplechase event, some19 seconds behind her personal best of 9:46 76.
Meanwhile, R.M.S Pushpakumara (Blacky) won the 5000m sealing yet another National title after first winning it back in 2006. Pushpakumara was going through a rough patch in his personal life troublesome due to his mother’s ill health for a long time before she passed away recently. “I’m planning a shift into 10,000m and Marathon soon, possibly in three months. I will be back here to defend my 3000m steeplechase title first, and then I’ll say adios to those events and will focus on 10000m and Marathon“, Pushpakumara told Ceylon Athletics.
