Four athletes reach qualifying standards for Junior World Championships 

by Reemus Fernando   

The just concluded first Selection Trial provided a rare opportunity for competition starved Junior Athletes to excel at national level. The three day event saw at least four athletes earning qualifying standards for the World Junior Athletics Championship which will be held in Cali, Colombia in August.

Ambagamuwa Central hurdler Dhanuka Dharshana who has run faster than the qualifying standards on several occasions reaffirmed his readiness with a 52.21 seconds finish in the men’s 400 metres hurdles. The selection standard for the World event is set at 53.20 seconds. The athlete trained by Anura Bandara had run below that mark on several occasions including 52.69 secs and 52.55 secs feats at the last National Championships.

Royal College hurdler Kaveesha Bandara too reached qualifying standards when he clocked 14.02 seconds to win the 110 metres hurdles. The qualifying mark set for the world event is 14.20 seconds.

Former St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya and Sidhartha College Balapitiya athlete Hirusha Hashen reached qualifying standards when he established a Sri Lanka Junior record in the long jump. He cleared 7.67 metres to win. The qualifying standard was 7.55 metres.

St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road athlete Pasindu Malshan with a feat of 15.68 metres in the triple jump was the other athlete to reach qualifying standards.

V.M. Yasiru of Kahawatta Central too bettered the (15.63m) qualifying standard of 15.55 metres but the assistance of the wind seems to have stood on his way.

Meanwhile several others came close to achieving standards. Of them Sithum Jayasundara and Tharushi Karunaratne were the closest to the standards.

Tharushi Karunaratne who was part of the last Junior World Championships clocked 55.73 seconds in the women’s 400 metres heats. She was expected to produce a better feat in the final but returned a time of 56.17 seconds. She has a personal best of 2:07.21 seconds in the 800 metres from May 2021. A repetition of the feat will earn her a place in the team for Cali. The qualifying standards for the girls’ 400 metres is 55.20 seconds.

Jayasundara meanwhile recorded feats of 48.70 seconds and 48.24 seconds in the 400 metres missing the qualifying standards by (47.60 secs) a small margin.

The forthcoming Junior National Championship will open another opportunity for these athletes to accomplish the target.