The opening day of the highly anticipated 20th Asian Junior Athletics Championship in South Korea came to a close on the 4th of June 2023.
Sri Lankan Athletes Tharushi Karunaratne and Jayeshi Uttara showcased their remarkable skills and determination on the opening day, clinching Silver and Bronze medals in the highly competitive Girls’ 400m event.
Tharushi crossed the finish line with a commendable time of 53.70 seconds, while Jayeshi followed close behind, clocking in at 55.51 seconds. Along with them, Indian athlete Mallick Heena, who won the Gold medal, recorded a time of 53.31 seconds.
Tarushi and Jayeshi’s success in the Girls’ 400m event marked a significant milestone for Sri Lanka, as it was the first time since 1994 that two medals were won in a Women’s event at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship.
Representing Sri Lanka in the Men’s 100m event, Meron Wijesinghe recorded his personal best time of 10.75 seconds, narrowly missing qualifying for the Finals and finishing 6th in the highly competitive Semi-final.
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Dinara Bandara, another Sri Lankan athlete, participated in the preliminaries of the Women’s 100m event. She impressed the audience with her swift speed, finishing first with a time of 12.05 seconds. Her impressive performance secured her a spot in the next round, giving her the opportunity to compete against the best in Asia.
Despite finishing 6th with a time of 1:55.99 minutes, Shehan Dilranga, who took part in the Men’s 800m preliminary race, failed to qualify for the next round.
The Sri Lankan athletes are scheduled to participate in several other events at the Asian Junior Athletic Championship in the upcoming days – stay tuned with ThePapare.com for all the updates from those events.
