Dhanuka and Nilani win Silver Medals in Thailand
Long Jumper Dhanuka Liyanapathirana and 3000m steeple chase runner Nilani Rathnayake sealed silver medals in the Thailand open Athletics championship which started at Thammasat University Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday (12th June).
Dhanuka leapt 7.73 in to headwind of -0.7 in long jump to win the silver medal in his fourth attempt which sealed him the medal on Monday. Earlier Dhanuka who trained under Cuban coach Luis Miranda Ramirez ,leapt his personal best of 7.89m earlier this month sealing his entry for next month’s Asian Championship.
In 3000m steeple chase, the Sri Lankan record holder of the event, Nilani Rathnayake clocked 10 minutes 29.03 seconds to win the medal in extreme heat condition which mark as 35 degree Celsius. Her event held at 3.20pm in local time of Bangkok.
Nilani who trained under Sajith Jayalal , had earlier clocked time of 10:03.94 seconds in April to set Sri Lanka record of the event where event was held late in the afternoon which helped her since she did not had to run under extreme heat.
Both of them will be eyeing medals in the forthcoming Asian Athletics Championship which is to held in Bhuwaneshwar ,India from 6 to 9 July.
In other events 400m runner Kalinga Kumarage easily sealed victory in the 400m semi-final with a time of 47.59 seconds and qualified for tomorrow’s final.
Thrower Ayesha Maduwanthi threw a seasonal best of 41.45m to finish fifth in the event and will be eyeing for a better performance in her pet event, the Hammer Throw.
Pole Vaulter Anitha Jagatheshwaran was unfortunate as she had to do her event around 1.30pm local time under hot sun with heat of 36 degrees Celsius where she could not clear her starting height.
Three Sri Lankan Athletes will be in action today with Ajith Karunathilaka starting decathlon competition today while Ayesha Madhuwanthi will compete in her pet event , hammer throw eyeing first 50 metres mark by Sri Lankan women .Kalinga Kumarage who is standing on gold medal position with his semi-final time will compete in the 400m finals tomorrow.
Schedule
14th(Wednesday)
Decathlon Day 1
7.00 am Hammer Throw Women Final
9.00 am 400m M Final
