Yupun, Dhanushka, Ushan top SL performers in the centenary year

by Reemus Fernando

In a year marred by cancellations of multiple international events due to Covid 19 pandemic, sprinter Yupun Abeykoon’s 9.96 seconds dash in the 100 metres in Switzerland stood out as Sri Lanka’s most outstanding track and field performance of the year as South Asia witnessed its first sub ten seconds performer in the sport’s most glamorous discipline.

In the men’s category the Italy-based sprinter was the top-ranked Sri Lankan in the track and field sports in the centenary year and the next two athletes in the list, namely, the long jumper Dhanushka Sandaruwan and high jumper Ushan Thivanka too thrived overseas.

Abeykoon ended a long wait for a track and field medal for Sri Lanka at a major multisport event when he clinched the bronze medal of the men’s 100 metres at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. It was the icing on the cake for the 27-year-old, who completed a dramatic year by taking under his name several national records.

Abeykoon, who will celebrate his birthday on new year’s eve, improved the 100 metres national record twice this year. The 9.96 seconds feat which he achieved in July is also the fastest performance by an Asian in the 100 metres this year. He was also the only Sri Lankan sprinter to clock sub 21 seconds in the 200 metres in the passing year.

Despite the rise of Abeykoon as a potential Asian Games medal winner, the country’s chances of fielding a strong relay team for the regional event disappeared as the former national record holder Himasha Eshan was slapped with a four-year ban in August for a doping violation he is alleged to have committed in 2021.

US-based athletes Danushka Sandaruwan and Ushan Thiwanka are the next highest-ranked Sri Lankan male athletes in 2022. The 2019 Asian Championship participant Sandaruwan produced an 8.03 metres long jump feat in June. Although it was not enough to secure a top position in Asia, the feat augurs well for the sport as Sandaruwan has cleared a huge mental barrier with that feat beyond the eight metres. It is the best performance by a Sri Lankan since Janaka Prasad’s 8.07 metres  (+2.0) feat in 2019 in the men’s long jump.

High jumper Thiwanka made a promising start in March with a feat of 2.27 metres, a performance that elevated him to the 14th position in the world by April. However, a number of issues prevented him from making it to the Sri Lanka teams. At the end of the year, Thiwanka is among the top ten in the Asian rankings.

The supremacy in the men’s 400 metres was shared by Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana who both clocked sub-46 seconds. At present Kumarage is ranked eighth in Asia while Dharshana is ranked 13th.Triple jumper Shreshan Dhananjaya, javelin thrower Sumedha Ranasinghe, triple jumper Chamal Kumarasiri, hurdler Roshan Ranatunga and long jumper Pathum Bandara Herath are the other highest-ranked Sri Lankan male athletes this year.

With his outstanding 9.96 seconds feat sprinter Abeykoon has provided track and field sports a rare platform to reinvigorate in its centenary year. However, it remains to be seen whether the authorities would capitalize on it. It is the first major breakthrough for local athletics since Olympic medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe’s retirement.

Highest Ranked Sri Lankan Male Athletes in 2022
Yupun Abeykoon 100m
Danushka Sandaruwan Long Jump
Ushan Thiwanka High Jump
Kalinga Kumarage 400metres
Shreshan Dhananjaya long jump/Triple Jump
Sumedha Ranasinghe javelin throw
Aruna Dharshana 400m
Chamal Kumarasiri triple jump
Roshan Ranatunga 110 metres hurdles
Yasiru Pathum Bandara Herath long jump