Javelin queen Nadeeka Lakmali is probably the best hope for a medal medal in the Sri Lankan camp at the 21st Asian Athletics Championship in Wuhan, China.
The Lankan contingent which includes 23 athletes and eight officials, have arrived in Wuhan and the athletes are getting used to the condition here in the host city, which are quite similar to Colombo weather.
Sri Lanka’s other top medal hopes will highly rely on experienced high jumper Manjula Kumara, Chaminda Wijekoon (1500m), men’s 4x400m team , Gayanthika Abeyratne (800m) and Chandrika Subhashini (400m).
Lakmali, who is among the best in Asia, is aiming for a long shot at Wuhan, following her successful run at the previous Asian Athletics Championships. She won the bronze medal with a 52.59 metres throw at the 2007 Amman Games and four years later, bettered her record with a 60.16 metre throw to win the silver medal in Pune, India in 2013.
Then she threw 60.39 metres to finish 12th in the IAAF World Athletics Championship held in Moscow, Russia, landing the javelin just a fraction behind her national record throw of 60.64 metres which she established at the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Forces’ Inter-Regiment Athletics Championships.
At the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland last July, she threw 59.04 metres which was below her expectations, to finish sixth, but she has proved that she is among the top contenders for a medal at Wuhan. Non of the Asian athletes could finish ahead of Lakmali in Glasgow. In the absence of top Asian countries such as Japan and China which are non Commonwealth Nations, the only other Asian in the top list at Glasgow was Annu Rani who was placed eighth.
Lakmali is vastly experienced, with over eight years of expertise in the international arena. She was trained in Finland with some of the best in the world for quite a long period along with her then coach A.J. Rodrigo. However she faced a huge setback at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea last year in which she could not live up to expectations and she ended up producing a below par feat (57.71 metres).
But the star athlete who has won a number of medals for the country at international meets, will be the one to watch in the women’s javelin throw in Wuhan on June 7, the final day of the meet.
