Junior athletes Rumesh Tharanga and Pasindu Malshan produced head-turning performances for Sri Lanka yesterday (4) in Cali, Colombia at the World Athletics U20 Championships as both of them managed to perform personal bests in their respective events.
Rumesh Tharanga – Men’s Javelin Throw
Tharanga of St. Peter’s College competed in the Qualification – Group A round of the Javelin Throw and secured a place in the final as one of the best non-automatic qualifiers with an impressive distance of 70.68m to clinch the 3rd place in his group. Overall, Tharanga’s performance was ranked as the 6th best in the Qualification Round.
The distance needed for automatic qualification to the final was 72.50m and only 4 athletes could achieve that mark.
Tharanga’s previous best in the event was 69.93m which he hurled in the National Athletics Championship 2022 at the Diyagama Stadium. With his new personal best of 70.68m, Tharanga has also renewed his own National Junior Record.
In the competition, Tharanga also made a 70.17m throw; another performance better than his previous Personal Best, showing he was in great form
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The final of the Men’s Javelin Throw event will be held on 6th August at 3.30 am Sri Lanka time.
Pasindu Malshan – Men’s Triple Jump
Later on in day 04, Pasindu Malshan made his debut at the World Championship as he competed in the Qualification Group A of the Men’s Triple Jump event.
The St. Joseph’s College athlete jumped 15.73m in his second attempt to a new Personal Best which secured him a place in the final. (Previous PB – 15.68m) Overall, he was ranked in 8th place after the performances of all the athletes in the two groups.
The distance needed for automatic qualification was 15.80m and 7 athletes jumped far than that mark. Malshan was the best non-automatic qualifier. He will participate in the Men’s Triple Jump Final on 6th August at 3.25 am Sri Lanka time.
Dhanuka Darshana – 400m Hurdles
Dhanuka Darshana of Ambagamuwa Centra College made his appearance in the semifinals of the 400m Hurdles in the evening session yesterday, but he couldn’t progress to the final.
After running a personal best and a new Junior National Record in 51.41 seconds in the first-round heats, Darshana again produced a fast time of 51.59s and was placed 7th in semifinal number 01.
The 18-year-old arrived in Colombia with a personal best of 51.99 seconds and the youngster has produced his top two fastest times (51.41s, 51.59s) in this World Championship.
Schedule for Sri Lanka Athletes
| SL Time | Event | Round | Athlete |
| 5th August | |||
| 03:25 AM (06th August) | Triple Jump (Men) | Final | Pasindu Malshan |
| 03:30 AM (06th August) | Javelin Throw Men) | Final | Rumesh Tharanga |
 in Cali, Colombia at the World Athletics U20 Championships as both of them managed to perform personal bests in their respective events.){kind=link}