Sri Lanka will pin hopes on the men’s 4x400 meter relay team to break an embarrassing pause for Sri Lankan athletics without a major international medal, at the 19th Asian Athletics Championships to be held in Kobe, Japan between July 7 and July 10 at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium.
The relay team comprising of Prasanna Amarasekara, Kasun Seneviratne, Danushka Karunaratne, Rohitha Pushpakumara and Deepal Mudunegedara are in excellent form and peaking smoothly according to Team Manager Col. Sudath Madugalle.
“They are shaping up beautifully, and are very much united as a team. We can see that as an encouraging sign because unity and understanding are vital factors for a relay team. That is also a crucial factor which Sri Lankan teams lacked in the recent past. Even when we won, it was thanks to the individual brilliance rather than a team effort” said Madugalle.
Team coach Sunil Gunawardene said that the team is determined to atone the embarrassment at last year’s Asian Games and Commonwealth Games where Sri Lanka failed to win any medals.
“We have been dominating Asian Athletic Championship in the past. Our athletes own several records. So, this is the perfect stage to get back to our winning ways and stop our recent setbacks” said Gunawardene.
Sri Lanka had chosen a 12-member team for the championship, but one competitor N.M.C. Dilrukshi who was to compete in the women’s 1500 meters event had not reached the qualifying standard and would not travel to Japan.
Sprint champion Shehan Ambepitiya who is currently in training in Jamaica under an IAAF Scholarship will arrive in Japan straight from the Caribbean.
The Team :
Men -Shehan Ambepitiya (100m, 200m), Prasanna Amarasekara (400m, 4X400m), Kasun Seneviratne (4X400m), Danushka Karaunaratne (4X400m), Rohitha Pushpakaumara (4X400m), Deepal Mudunegedara (4X400m), Chaminda Wijekoon (1500m), Lakshan Dayaratne (Javelin),
Women – R.M. Chandrika Subashini (200m, 400m), Merryl (400m Hurdles), Nadeka Lakmali (Javelin)
Col. Sudath Madugalle (Manager), Sunil Gunawardene (Coach) |
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