Sports
Kalinga intensifies battle for 400 metres top spot with personal best
Kalinga wins gold at Inter State Championship in India
Sprinter Kalinga Kumarage ran a superb outer lane 400 metres to clinch the gold medal at the National Inter State Athletics Championships at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India on Friday.Kumarage, who was yet to clock sub 46 seconds this season, returned a new personal best time of 45.64 seconds to produce his personal best in the final.Kumarage had a personal best of 45.70 seconds from 2022 but was yet to clock sub 46 seconds this year.
His new personal best will augur well for the discipline as the country intensifies the battle for medals at the forthcoming Asian Championships and the Asian Games this year.
While Aruna Dharshana is the leading contender in this discipline, Pabasara Niku and Rajitha Rajakaruna have produced impressive times this season.From the present 400 metres sprinters Dharshana and Kumarage are the only athletes to have clocked sub 46 seconds.
(RF)