Army's Sachini betters her own record

Sri Lanka Army athlete Sachini Perera improved her own Sri Lanka National record with a leap of 3.70m to win the women’s pole vault event at the second selection trial of the Asian Games which concluded at the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium yesterday. Sachini broke her own record of 3.65m which she established in last month’s first selection trial at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tharushi Karunartatne who qualified in 400m for the world junior athletic championship on the previous day (day one) once again excelled at the women’s 800m winning the race in 2 minutes 06.99 seconds while Dilshi Kumarasinghe the National champion who came back after nine months due to injury was not at her best yesterday finished second with 2.07.00 seconds. The promising athlete Janeshi Uththara of Holy Cross Gampaha who finished third to qualify for the world junior meet at women’s 400m (55.19 sec) on the first day once again came to the limelight yesterday by winning 200m second place with 24.33 seconds while 19-year-old Medhani Jayamanne was placed first with a superb time of 24.26 seconds. Amesha Hettiarachchi of Viharamahadevi BMV Kandy excelled in 400m hurdlers with one minute 00.49 seconds also qualified for the world junior athletic championship while Nihinsa Mandini of Yatiyana MV was able to set up women’s hammer throw Junior National record with 39.57m.

The Olympian Sumedha Ranasinghe recorded the second-best feat of his career in the Javelin with a throw of 81.79m to achieve qualification standard for the Asian Games on the first day Ranasinghe who set the Sri Lanka record of 83.03m in 2015, became the first Sri Lankan Javelin Thrower to qualify for the Olympics and competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics once again back to his form while also achieving the elite pool qualification standard of 80.50m. (D.R)