3000m Steeplechase and 800m athletes, Nilani Rathnayake and Nimali Liyanarachchi are hopeful of qualifying for the Olympic Games, which will take place in Tokyo, Japan in late July 2021.
With local meets close to non-existent and the pandemic stopping local athletes from travelling overseas in search of events, chances of qualifying for this years’ Games seemed like an impossible task.
Read: Sri Lanka tour to India kicks off today
However, a last-minute decision by the Sri Lanka Athletics Association to send a 10-member team to Patiala, India to compete at an Interstate Athletics Meet has meant that these athletes were given one last chance to get close to their Olympic dreams.
3000m Steeplechase champ Nilani Rathnayake will compete in her event tomorrow, 29th June in India. Nilani Rathnayake is in contention for qualification, sitting within the World Rankings quota currently.
Rathnayake was ranked higher in the event, however, since being unable to participate in international competitions since 2019, she has been unable to secure automatic qualification yet (9:30.0 is the automatic qualification standard for the event.)
While the Indian Athletics Meet is currently underway, an unfortunate incident occurred in the Women’s 800m event which saw Nimali Liyanarachchi in competition. Foul play by the Indian athletes were called after the race, in which the Lankan finished in third place. She has unable to meet the automatic qualification standard of 1:59.50 for the event, however the door remains open for the time being.
With this performance, Nimali Liyanarachchi climbs to the 25th in the Olympic qualifications list, ahead of the deadline to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Read: Yupun Abeykoon breaks into World Top 50
Currently listed under Universality entry, Liyanarachchi’s spot will depend on her fellow compatriot Rathnayake’s performance in the Steeplechase, as only one Universality Place can be awarded by any NOC per gender, per sport. Ie – If Rathnayake manages to secure her place by meeting the qualification standard or via her World Ranking (she is currently within the World Rankings quota), then Liyanaarachchi cannot be handed a Universality Place.
Universality Places are only awarded for Sprint and Middle-distance races, therefore Rathnayake cannot be sent as a Universality Entrant in the 3000m Steeplechase event.
The Lankan Athletics community will sit by the edge of their seats till the dawn of June 30th to see the final list of Sri Lankans who will fly out to Tokyo for the Olympic Games. Keep it logged onto ThePapare.com for updates on the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020!
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