Local athletes to vie with great hopes

Thushan JAYASURIYA

The Sri Lankan athletes will participate in the 15th Asian Junior Athletic Championship with great hope and courage which is to be held from June 9 to 12 at the Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo.

With the home advantage they are eying on more and more victories with a participation of 111 athletes.

The Lankan women's team caption is Shivanthi Kumari Rathnayake, a proud product of St.Joseph’s Girls School, Kegalle and she will take athletes' oaths along with all participants at the main event on June 9.

National coloursman for 110m hurdles event, Supun Viraj Randeniya, a student of the Ranabima Royal College, Peradeniya will lead the men’s team. Susantha Fernando, the head coach of the team says that they have good opportunities to win more medals this time and hopes that Sri Lanka will be able to ranked among the top three in the medal list.

C.P.Weerasinghe of Vijitha Central College, Dikwella and Nimesha Siriwardena of Galenbindunuwewa Central College who holds the national record for High Jumpwill light the Olympic torch at the event.

However, Sri Lanka have to face a strong challenge from several countries including India, Japan, China, Kazhakhstan, Thailand, Philippines and Jordan.

A total of 324 Asian men and 203 women will participate in the championship. The Asian Athletic Association delegation who observed the renovated Sugathadasa Stadium and the facilities arranged for over 900 athletes and officials participating in the event was satisfied about the newly built track, said Harsh B. Abeykoon, Media Secretary of the Sports Ministry.

Most significantly this is the first time that Sri Lanka is going to host the Asian Junior Athletic championship and previously it has been held in Singapore, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam under the supervision of Asian Athletics Association.

This is the first event to be held at the Sugathadasa Stadium, after its renovation with the upgraded facilities. The Asian Junior Athletic Championship will be a great opportunity for budding athletes with courage and talent. And this will encourage young people to engage in sport which is a major factor in developing personality and leadership skills.