Three medals for Sri Lanka at Asian Grand Prix
Sri Lankan athletes secured three medals -- a gold, a silver and a bronze -- at the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix series which was concluded in Jianhua, China yesterday.
Indunil Herath clocked 1:50.69secs to win gold in the men’s 800m while sprinter Himasha Eashan had to be satisfied with the silver medal with a time of 10.43secs. His effort was far from the seasonal best he clocked in Jamaica few days back where he returned a time of 10.29secs.
Though much was expected from the 800m women’s duo of Gayanthika Abeyrathne and Nimali Liyanarachchi, they failed to impress with Gayanthika managing to win the bronze medal clocking 2:03.78secs. Nimali clocked a disappointing 2:08.47secs to finish in fifth place.
Though both have cleared over 82 metres in Javelin, neither Sumedha Ranasinghe nor Waruna Lakshan came close to their best performances clearing 71.12 metres and 70.40 metres to finish on 7th and 8th places respectively.
The 100m women’s national champion Rumeshika Ratnayake finished 5th with a seasonal best time of 11.82secs while Ajith Premakumara clocked 48.71secs to finish 4th in the men’s 400m race. With an effort of 15.15 metres Sanjaya Jayasinghe finished 7th in men’s triple jump while Tharika Fernando finished fifth in women’s shot put with an effort of 13.99 metres. Female high jumper Tharanga Vinodani failed to clear the starting height of 1.65 metres.
The second leg will be held in Jiaxing, China on April 27 while the final leg will be held in Chinese Taipei on April 30. Asian GP First Leg
Indunil Herath (800m) 1st 1:50.69secs; Himasha Eashan (100m) 2nd 10.43secs; Gayanthika Abeyrathne (800m) 3rd 02:03.78 secs; Nimali Liyanarachchi (800m) 5th 2:08.47secs; Sumedha Ranasinghe (Javelin) 7th 71.12m; Waruna Lakshan (Javelin) 8th 70.40m; Rumeshika Rathnayake (100m) 5th 11.82secs (SB); Ajith Premakumara (400m) 4th 48.71secs; Sanjaya Jayasinghe (triple jump) 7th 15.15m; Tharika Fernando (Shot) 5th -13.99m; Tharanga Vinodani - no mark (failed to clear starting height 1.65m)