Gayanthika, Nimali to contest for 800 metres glory in Tharushi’s absence

by Reemus Fernando

Four months after basking in the Asian Games glory a majority of athletes who won medals at the quadrennial event in China will return to action when Sri Lanka Athletics commences its first track event of the 2024 calendar on Friday.

While almost all male athletes who won medals in China will compete for supremacy in the men’s 400 metres, the gold winning 800 metres specialist Tharushi Karunaratne will be the notable absentee in both the 400metres and her pet event in the women’s category.

The name of Ratnayake Central Walala athlete Karunaratne was not in the entry list published by Sri Lanka Athletics and sources close to the athlete said that she had skipped the event to better prepare for the decisive events taking place later this year.

Karunaratne created history winning a gold medal in the women’s 800 metres at the Asian Games last year.

In her absence, former national record holders in the 800 metres, Gayanthika Abeyratne and Nimali Liyanarachchi are the main contenders for top honours at the First Selection Trial at Diyagama.

The athletes from Sooriyawewa were instrumental in improving the standard of the discipline well before Karunaratne came into the circuit as a school athlete.

Asian Games medallists Dilhani Lekamge in the women’s javelin and Nadeesha Ramanayake in the 400 metres are the main contenders in their respective events. The names of sprinters Amasha de Silva, Shelinda Jansen and Rumeshika Ratnayake are entered in the women’s 100 metres promising a tight contest.

In the men’s category, Aruna Dharshana, Kalinga Kumarage, Rajitha Rajakaruna, Pabasara Niku and Pasindu Kodikara who won Asian medals in the 400 metres are among the highest ranked male athletes entering the competition, while Janindu Lakvijaya who improved the national record in the men’s 110 metres and 400 metres hurdler Dhanuka Dharshana are among the highest ranked Sri Lankan athletes who have entered the competition.

The two day event is also a selection ground for junior athletes who aspire to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships this year.