Ravindu stuns arena with 47.53 in 400m- Beats Asian Youth Silver medalist again
Ravindu Dilshan Bandara from Wekada MV, Chilaw isn’t a familiar name among the top crop of youth sprinters in Sri Lanka, and did not even make it to the team for the Asian Youth Championship earlier this year. But when he took on Asian Youth Silver medallist Navishka Sandeesh in the 400m Boys’ under-18 finals at the All Island School Games 2019, he produced a magical run which stunned the two Asian Youth team members Navishka and Isuru Kaushalya and shattered the meet record in the process with an amazing 47.53 seconds.
His time was also the fastest 400m time of the meet, even faster than the under-20 winner. The 17-year-old ran a hard first 300m virtually taking Navishka and Kaushalya out of the race, as he once again beat Navishka just as he did during the Junior National Championship last month, proving that the Junior National win wasn’t a fluke.
“I was very sad when I could not make it to the Asian Youth team and was determined to do well when I got the chance,” said the shy youngster hailing from Dankotuwa.
Training under former St Joseph Vaz College Coach Nalaka Prasanna, Ravindu was a late bloomer compared to the rest of his competitors, where he wasn’t winning at this level until this year.
Coach Nalaka said, “After I left Joseph Vaz to join the Zonal Education Office, I wanted to train some talented athletes and was looking around for youngsters around the area when I met Ravindu about two years back. Since then I was able to train him to run this distance and clock this time with ease, without resorting to any heavy training or at least weight training.”
Ravindu’s background is just like most of the other talented athletes, with his father (a driver) being the only breadwinner of the family of four.
Double Gold for Jayasundara
Sprinter Sithum Jayasundara from Sir John Kothalawala Central College Kurunegala once again displayed his versatile sprinting ability by winning the Gold medal in both the 100m and 400m in the boys under-16 category. The running style of the tall and lanky Sithum reminds one of Usain Bolt.
Throughout this year he has been winning triple Gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m, which he has achieved during the Junior National and John Tarbat Championship. He is eyeing to repeat his performance at the School Games too.
His 400m time was the most eye catching of the two events today, where he clocked 48.91 seconds to win the event. His time of 48.73 seconds during the first round of the 400m was also a new meet record, while he clocked 11.23 seconds to win the 100m.
Little Tharushi in big show
Tharushi Karunarathne of A. Rathnayaka Central College Walala, younger sister of 2017 800m Asian Youth Silver medallist, Harsha Karunarathne, once again excelled in the 400m, shattering the meet record for under-16 Girls’ with a time of 56.54 seconds, which was better than both the under-18 and under-20 winners of the meet.
“From a very young age I saw my elder brother winning medals and competing internationally, and I thought I should follow that path to become a successful athlete,” said young Tharushi.
In other events of the day, sprinters from Gateway College Rajagiriya excelled by winning both the Girls’ under-18 and 20 100m. Sadeepa Henderson won the under-18 Gold medal, while Shelinda Jansen sealed the under-20 Gold.
Jaffna’s N. Dadsitha of Chava Hindu College vaulted 3.35m to set a new meet record in the girls under-20 pole vault event. Young sprinter Ravidi Wenurika from Wijayapura M.V. Thanamalwila caught the eye of many when she dazzled the track to win the Girls’ under-12 100m Gold medal in 13.59 secs, a time even some of the under-12 Boys’ could not achieve.
Meet records so far
Boys
Sithum Jayasundara (Sir John Kothalawala MV Kurunegala) U-16 400m – 48.73 sec
A .Puvitharan (Chavakachcheri Hindu College, Jaffna) Pole Vault U-20 – 4.82m
Rumesh Tharanga (St Peter’s College Colombo 04) Javelin Throw U-18 – 66.63m
Meshak Miloshi (Seventh Day Adventist High School) High Jump U-14 – 1.75m
M.D. Wijerathne (Dharmaraja College Kandy) 1500m U-18 – 4:01.5 sec
Ravindu Dilshan Bandara (Wekada MV Chilaw) U-18 400m – 47.53 sec
S. Mithunraj (Hartley College –Jaffna) Shot Put U-18 – 15.95m
Shewan Abeysinghe (Lyceum Nugegoda) 100m U-12 – 13.26 seconds
Girls
Nethra Samadhi (Vijitha CC Dikwella) High Jump U-12 – 1.41m
Dadsitha (Chava Hindu College Jaffna) Pole Vault U-20 – 3.35m
M.I. Haanthi (A. Rathnayaka CC Walala) Javelin Throw U-18 – 47.77m
Sachini Samarasekara (St Bridget’s Convent Colombo) Shot Put U-14 – 10.34m
Tharushi Karunarathne (A. Rathnayaka CC Walala) 400m U-18 – 56.54 sec
Nethmini Niwarthana (Weeriyagama MV Hambanthota) Long Jump U-14 – 5.29m
Ravidi Wenurika (Wijayapura KV Thanamalwila) 100m U-12 – 13.59 seconds
