Seevali Central athlete Akila Ravishanka’s hopes of improving on the record he established on Saturday was dashed when his starting blocks slipped back at the start of the 110 metres hurdles final (under-18), on the third day of the Junior National Athletics Championship at the Sugathadasa Stadium, yesterday.
An Asian Youth Games medalist, Ravishanka established a record when he clocked 14.53 seconds in the 110 metres hurdles heats on Saturday.
He was hoping to better the record in the final and impress the selectors in order to secure a place in the team for two upcoming international events, but his hopes evaporated soon after the gun went off, as the starting block slipped back on impact, forcing him to abandon the race.
He was seen requesting for a rerun of the race, but the immediate reaction from officials was apparently negative. His school officials have made a written request.
Despite repairs being done to several areas, the synthetic track which was newly laid for the last Junior Asian Championships has started to deteriorate again.
The poor quality of the synthetic track of the Sugathadasa Stadium beckons athletes, especially sprinters to get helpers to keep the starting blocks from moving at the start of a race. Most of the sprinters were seen getting helpers to hold the starting blocks at the start of sprint events.
Several damaged areas of the synthetic track were visible closer to the jumping pits.
