Gold winner Nadeeka happy with her effort
Sri Lanka contingent will leave for Chonburi, some 100 kilometres
away from the Thai capital, to take part in the second leg of the Asian
Grand Prix Athletic Championship this morning.
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Nadeeka Lakmali making the winning throw. Picture by Prince
Gunasekara |
Sri Lanka's golden girl at the first leg at Thammasat University
grounds, Olympian Nadeeka Lakmali said that she was happy with her throw
on Saturday. Lakmali threw 56.83 meters to win the gold medal, but was
behind her five-year-old record performance which stands at 58.43
meters.
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R M Chandrika Subhashini Ratnayake on her way to win silver
medal in women’s 400 metres event |
Lakmali is regaining her strength and she is expecting to provide a
better show at Wednesday's second leg and is ready to entertain the home
crowd at the third and final leg to be held in Colombo next Sunday. The
Bangkok weather did not favor the athletes and they had to compete under
the hot sun.
The heat was a challenge for even the home athletes and a Thai
official on duty at the ground said that the temperature was very high
compared to the typical Bangkok conditions around this time of the year.
However the weather has suddenly changed in Bangkok and it was
raining all morning on the following day.
Manager of the Sri Lankan party Dervin Perera said that he believes
that the weather would make an impact on the performances of Lankan
athletes, enabling them squeeze out energy during the second leg
Chonburi.
In addition to Lakmali, R M Chandrika Subhashini Ratnayake won a
silver medal when she finished second in the women’s 400 metres event,
with 53.35 seconds, D L Samarajeewa won the third place in the men's
5000 meters, Kasun Kalhara won the bronze medal in the men's 400 m
event, clocking 47.18 seconds, giving some relief to the Lankan
officials.
Sri Lankan men were placed fourth in the second heat of the 4x100
meters relay but was ranked seventh in the overall results. R A
Hasaranga, Shehan Ambepitiya, Mohammad Safran and A C Nadeeshan were the
baton holders in the Lankan relay team.
“The relay was a hard battle between the top teams in the Asian
region. We will concentrate on the performances of the men's relay team
and I am sure that they will show better results during the next few
days,” said Manager Perera. |
