Nadeesha Dilhani Lekamge ended Sri Lanka’s 17-year wait for an Asian Games athletics medal after 2006 as she clinched the silver medal in the women’s javelin throw finals with a new personal best throw of 61.57 metres. Incidentally, this is Sri Lanka’s first-ever javelin medal in Asian Games history. Sri Lanka’s last medal in an athletics field event was way back in Jakarta in 1962 when Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam won silver in the high jump.
India’s Annu Rani won gold and China’s Lyu Huihui bagged bronze.
Athletics
It’s a tale of two generations as both 18-year-old Tharushi and 36-year-old seasoned veteran Gayanthika qualified for the finals, increasing hopes of bagging more athletics medals. After Susanthika Jayasinghe’s bronze in 200 m in Doha 2006, a female athlete has yet to clinch a medal in a track/running event.
Tharushi Karunaratne and Gayanthika Abeyrathne qualified for the women’s 800 m finals. Tharushi clocked 2:05.48 to finish second in Heat 3 and Gayanthika finished in 2:07.17 to qualify as the next best runner after finishing third in Heat 2. The final of the women’s 800 m will be held at 4.55 p.m. Sri Lanka time today. Tharushi Karunaratne has the second-best timing amongst the eight finalists with Wang C. of China on top. Two Chinese, two Indian, two Sri Lankan, a Bahraini, and a Japanese athlete have qualified for the all-important race.
The Sri Lanka men’s relay team booked their spot in the 4x400 m final with a timing of 3:06.60. They will race at 6.05 p.m. Sri Lanka time today. In their Heat 2 race, the Philippines finished on top with a national record of 3:06.15. Sri Lanka will race against top-seed India, Qatar, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Bahrain, and Iraq in the finals. Recently in July, Tharushi broke a 25-year Asian record of 2:01.16 set by Zhang Sian (China) in 1998 after completing the 800 m event in 2:00.66 seconds at the 25th Asian Athletic Championship.
Weightlifting
Indika Dissanayake was placed second in men’s 73 kg Group B, lifting a total of 285 kg (Snatch 125 kg and Clean & Jerk 160 kg)
Badminton
Stamping his authority in his maiden Asian Games, Viren Nettasinghe, in an absorbing game, won 2-0 in the men’s individual round of 32, beating Enkhbat Sumiyasuren of Mongolia 2-0 (21-8, 21-16). Today he will take on World No. 13 Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei for a place in the quarter-finals. Viren is the sole Sri Lankan participant in the badminton competition at the Asian Games.
In the opening round, Nettasinghe outclassed Bhutan’s Anish Gurung with a commanding 2-0 (21-6, 21-14) victory.
Nettasinghe recently made headlines by winning the silver medal in the men’s singles at the Badminton Challenge Tournament held in Medan, Indonesia.
Squash
Team Sri Lanka secured a 2-0 win against China in their mixed double’s Pool B clash. Shamil Mukthar and Chanithma Sinaly beat Zhou Zhitao and Li Dongjin.
Long Jump
Lakshini Sarangi Silva placed sixth in the women’s finals with a result of 6.14, China’s Xiong Shiqi won gold, Ancy Sojan of India won silver, and Yan Yue of Hong Kong won bronze.