The Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) has announced a squad of 84 junior athletes who will represent the country at the South Asian Junior Athletic Championship (SAJAC) which will be hosted at the Sugathadasa Stadium on the 5th and 6th of May 2018.
Junior athletes of South Asian region with the exception of Afghanistan, will take part in the two-day competition which is set to provide the young athletes with the much-needed international competition exposure and an opportunity to put their skills at test amongst the other athletes of the region.
Sri Lanka will be fielding a team of 84 athletes consisting of 44 Boys and 40 Girls who will participate in 14 individual disciplines and also in the 4X100m and 4X400m team relays. The squad was selected using the recently concluded Junior National Championship(JNC) as a selection trial where the top three performers from each discipline have been chosen to represent the country. With the Junior National Championship providing 28 new meet records and a national record, the athletes will be looking to continue their good form at the SAJAC held in their own back yard.
In the Boy’s category the selectors have focused on providing maximum exposure to the athletes to compete with the regional competitors which will also provide them an opportunity to earn qualifications to the upcoming Junior Asian and World Youth Championships. Thirty four U20 athletes, five U18 and one U16 athlete makes up the squad.
Peterite Hirusha Hashen who established a new meet record in the U16 Long Jump at the JNC with a head turning leap of 7.09m is the youngest member of the squad and the experience he gains from being part of an international competition will no doubt add valuable experience for the young man. High Jumper S.T Amarasinghe (Royal College), Javelin thrower Thusmina Krishmal (St. Mary’s Chilaw) and Dhammika Wijesooriya – 1500m (Randiwel MV) are the U18 athletes who have been selected for individual events while Kavindu Bandara (Lyceum Int.) and D M Bogoda (Kurunegala DAA) have been added to the relay team.
The best athlete in the U20 category at the concluded JNC, Aruna Darshana of Weerakappatiopola NS, and Akuramboda will be an athlete to look out for. Young quarter-miler made everyone stop and take notice when he ran an astonishing time of 46.59 to establish the new meet record at the JNC and also went on to create a meet record in the U20 200m clocking 21.38 and looking very relaxed and composed in the process. Aruna will be competing in both 200m and 400m at the SAJAC and will also be part of the 4X400m relay.
Boy’s squad for South Asian Junior Athletic Championship – Full squad
The participation for the Girl’s U20 and U23 categories at the JNC have reduced alarmingly over the years indicating a trend of the girls giving up the sport when reaching the senior age groups which could create a vacuum in the supply chain for the national grid. Sri Lanka have always done better when it comes to female athletes in the international arena.
The lack of U20 participation is evident as the 40 Girl squad selected for the SAJAC consists only of fourteen Under18 athletes and three U16 athletes with twenty three U20 athletes making up the Girl’s squad. Discus thrower Heshani Maheshika (St. Sebastian’s Kandana), Kavindi Sanjana – 4X400m (Janadhipathi BV, Nawala) and High Jumper PIN Pallegama (Ibbangamuwa CC) will be the youngest athletes in the Girl’s squad.
High jumper Pallegama is an interesting young talent to have emerged from Ibbangamuwa. At the recently concluded JNC she was adjudged the best athlete in the U16 category managing to clear a meet record height of 1.71m in the high jump. Despite competing with others who are well older than her she will be a fierce competitor and will hope to win silverware in the first international competition that she takes part in.
Up and coming speedster and the undisputed sprint queen at the concluded JNC, Amasha De Silva of Swarnamali BV Kandy will be the busiest athlete at the SAJAC. Amasha stamped her authority at the concluded in both 100m & 200m clocking 12.01 & 24.49 in the U20 girls 100M and the 200M finals respectively to record victory in both events. She will be taking part in 4 events at the SAJAC with the selectors deciding to include her in the 4X100m & 4X400m teams apart from her two sprint events.
SAJAC will be the first international competition to be hosted at the newly laid Sugathadasa stadium and the Islands first international competition for some time. We eagerly invite all the Sri Lankan Sports loving public to come make your way to the Sugathadasa stadium on the 5th and 6th of May from 2.00pm to 5.00pm and get behind the Sri Lankan athletes who will be competing against the rest of the South Asian region.
Be updated on SJAC – https://www.thepapare.com/Athletics/
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