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by Dinesh Weerawansa

Hosts Sri Lanka were given a shock just 48 hours from the Colombo leg of the 2003 Asian Grand Prix when their star woman sprinter and Olympic medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe was admitted to a private hospital in Colombo suffering dehydration and stomach upset on her arrival from India last afternoon.

Jayasinghe, who won the women's 100m dash at the first meet of the four-leg 2003 Asian Grand Prix Series in Hyderabad, India on Wednesday with a new meet record, was taken to a leading private hospital in Colombo immediately on arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake yesterday.

The 2000 Sydney Olympic women's 200m bronze medallist complained of dehydration and stomach problems when she arrived at Katunayake BIA with the 180-member Asian elite team of athletes who will compete in all four meets of the 2003 Asian Grand Prix Series.

She was then rushed by ambulance to Nawaloka Hospital, where she was given immediate medical care by specialist doctors Geethanjana Mendis and Chandima de Mel. Dr. Mendis, the Head of the Sports Medicine Institute of the Ministry of Sports and Consultant Neurologist said Jayasinghe was treated for dehydration and gastro enteritis and is recovering. She will be discharged and would be kept at her team hotel under observation.

The Sri Lankan sports medicine chief assured that Jayasinghe should be able to run on Sunday. "There is no need to be panic. We treated her for dehydration and gastro enteritis. She is discharged but her condition will be monitored for the next 48 hours. Definitely she should be able to run on Sunday and win another gold medal for Sri Lanka," Dr. Mendis assured.

Team sources said the 28-year-old IAAF ranked star woman sprinter had been feeling uncomfortable during her flight from India to Colombo. Family sources too confirmed that the celebrated Lankan woman athlete would be fit to run tomorrow. "She is fit and is going to run on Sunday.

She is determined to bring even more glory to our country," her husband and coach Dhammika Nandakumara, a former Sri Lanka athlete, said. Jayasinghe did well in her first international meet in eight months when she clocked a record breaking 11.30 seconds to win women's 100m at Hyderabad Grand Prix. It was her first international meet since pulling out of women's 200m after the 100m gold medal at last year's Asian Games in Busan, South Korea in October.

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