Poor performances by Lankan athletes

Sri Lanka put up a bleak performance winning just two bronze medals at the 19th Asian Athletic Championships which concluded at the Memorial Stadium in Kobe, Japan on Sunday. The two medal winners for Sri Lanka were Chaminda Wijekoon (Men’s 1500 metres) and USA based athlete Christine Sonali Merril who finished third in the women’s 400 metres hurdles.

The biggest disappointment for Sri Lanka was the performance of star sprinter Shehan Ambepitiya and Prasanna Amarasekera. Both failed to make an impact with Ambepitiya finishing sixth in the men’s 200 metres final.

Amarasekera also could not impress and was knocked out from the Men’s 400 metres while the Sri Lankan relay team was placed fourth in the Men’s 4X400 metres relay event.

Meanwhile the hosts Japan took the overall honours while topping the medals tally with a total of 32 medals comprising 11 Gold, 10 Silver and 11 Bronze. They were followed by China with a tally of 27 medals.