SAG Athletic final selection trials on December 3 and 4

The final selection of the South Asian Games (SAG) athletic team will take place on December 3 and 4 at a trial meet to be held at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama. The event will be conducted by the Sri Lanka Athletics Association.

The SAG is scheduled to take place on February 6 to 16, next year in Assam, India. Thirty four events for men and women in track and field is scheduled to be held. The Athletic Association hopes to select two athletes each from these trials except for throwing events.

In the throwing events two athletes are expected to be selected but it will ultimately be even one athlete said Sri Lanka Athletics Association’s Statistics Official and Media Coordinator Saman Kumara Gunewardena.

In the women’s 5000 m. too only one athlete will be selected. Women have not been included in the Discus Throw event.

At the moment there are 84 athletes, men and women, in the SAG Athletic Pool. Other than that another 200 athletes have sent in their applications to be included in the pool. Altogether around 300 to 350 athletes will be involved in the trials. All poolists will have to take part in the final selections other than marathon runner Anuradha Indrajit Cooray, who is currently out of Sri Lanka. The final team to the SAG is expected to be around 75 to 80 athletes including the relay teams – 4X100 m men and women, 4X400 m men and women. Sri Lanka won eight Gold Medals at the last SAG held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2010. This time Sri Lanka aims to win at least 15 Gold Medals.