Susanthika now aims at Asian Games 200m Gold

Dinesh WEERAWANSA

GAMES: Having completed a golden triple at the recently concluded 10th South Asian Games in Sri Lanka last week, star woman sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe now focuses on an Asian Games women's 200m gold medal, the one that is missing in her proud collection of medals during last one and a half decades.

Despite being the only Sri Lankan to win medals at the World Championship and at Olympic Games, the 30-year-old sprint queen is yet to win an Asian Games gold medal in her pet event of women's 200m.

Having won the silver at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima and missed the 1998 Games in Bangkok due to an injury, Jayasinghe was well set for that feat in South Korea four years ago.

In fact, Jayasinghe took the first step towards her dream golden sprint double by winning women's 100m at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. But she later aggravated a hamstring injury and was forced to withdraw from the 200m event.

Four years after those mixed fortunes in South Korea, the celebrated Lankan sprint queen is getting ready to add that elusive women's 200m gold at the 15th Asian Games to be held in Doha later this year.

"I have already started training. I did not take a break after winning three gold medals at the 10th South Asian Games. My target is the Asian Games and I am working towards that goal. My training is going on uninterrupted as I want to be in perfect shape by December," she said.

Jayasinghe, returning to international track after missing the 2005 season due to a leg injury, showed that she has not lost her old touch.

"You have seen most of my key international races including the Sydney Olympics. Do you think that I am running like those days?," questioned Jayasinghe when we spoke to her a couple of days ago. When the writer admitted so, Jayasinghe said she feels that she is reborn and could go back to her career best once more.

"Before I retire, I want to better my career best timings, both of them were in 2000. 100m timing of 11.04 seconds was in Yokohama weeks before the Olympics. Then in Sydney 2000, I did a 22.28 to win the 200m bronze. My aim is to better those I retire. I came like a queen and will hang my spikes like a queen," a determined Jayasinghe said.

She completed triple gold medals at the 10th South Asian Games. She clocked 22.99 seconds to win women's 200m gold and two days later, she did a 11.33 in the short sprint to become the fastest woman at the eight-nation Games.

Then in the women's 4 x 100m relay, Jayasinghe did a blistering anchor lap as the Sri Lanka team won with a new South Asian Games record.

"I am happy that I showed signs of another great comeback. Now I feel there is another life for me.

Unfortunately, the Sugathadasa Stadium track did not give me any support to go for the SA Games records that I was eyeing," she said.

Jayasinghe complained that the track looked a dead surface and was hard. "That gave no assistance. When you get in to a top track, you feel very soft and that gives that much needed grip and push to your spikes.

But that was not there at all. It was like running on a flat hard surface," she alleged.

The celebrated Lankan athlete, who has won Sri Lanka's one and only IAAF World championship medal, a silver in women's 200m, in Athens nine years ago, said lack of competition too contributed for her failure to go for the Games records.

"It was just like a school meet for me. There was hardly any competition. At least if (Damayanthi) Darsha had been there, we would have generated a better pace. That is the case when I run in Asia. But at world level meets, my timings have always been impressive. That is because of the competition level is high," she explained.

Despite all her high profile achievements, Jayasinghe does not have a job at present or a sponsor to back the final lap of her career as the most outstanding athlete that Sri Lanka has ever produced.

"My goal is the Asian Games in December. I have a little hope of next year's World championship as well but who knows what the tomorrow would be. But if I get a suitable job or a sponsor to guide me through the Asian Games, it will be a good backing to pursue my career," she added.

She has spent all her earnings to build her house. "The day I retire, I want to be a mother. As all other women, I have my dreams. Once I retire, I have no plans to hang on to athletics in any way as I went to concentrate on a good family life with Dhammika (Nandakumara) aiya," said Jayasinghe referring to her husband, a former Sri Lanka athlete turned her local coach.

But the man who guided her to Olympic glory after 52 years, American Tony Campbell is in constant touch with her. "Tony sends me all the schedules and programs on work outs.

Dhammika aiya trains me accordingly. I give a regular feedback to Tony (Campbell) and he feels that I still could do something at world level. I too personally feel that, despite all the ups and downs in recent times," she said.

Jayasinghe wants to run in a couple of key world level meets before the Asian Games. "I have told Tony to find me a couple of good races, probably Grand Prix events. That would give me confidence and opportunity to improve my timings before I go to Doha (for Asian Games). My aim is to win a few more medals for my country before I retire," she added.

Born in 1975 to a poor village family in Ethnawala, Jayasinghe came to the limelight with golden sprint double at the Asian Junior Championships in Jakarta, 1993. Ever since, she blossomed to be the most successful athlete that Sri Lanka has ever produced.

In 1994, she won her first Asian Games medal in Hiroshima, Japan - a silver in women's 200m, ahead of compatriot Darsha who won the bronze.

At the 1995 Asian Championship in Jakarta, Jayasinghe won the gold in her pet event. Having twice survived allegations on performance enhancing drugs, Jayasinghe feels that it was a trap by interested parties.

"I am a good Buddhist. I value our culture. My strength was because I was breastfed for five years. I feel that I still have that energy that I got from my mother," she concluded.