Sprinter Chandrika Subashini and high jumper Manjula Kumara were the best athletes in the women’s and men’s categories respectively for the second consecutive year as the Athletics Championship of the National Sports Festival concluded at Anuradhapura on Monday.
Chandrika’s sprint feat of 55.80 seconds to win the women’s 400 metres and Manjula’s jump of 2.15 metres to win the men’s high jump won them the titles according to statisticians.
The duo were also the best athletes when the 39th edition was held at Nawalapitiya last year. For Manjula Kumara it was the third consecutive best athlete title having won it in Colombo and Nawalapitiya at the last two editions.
However, like most athletes, Chandrika and Manjula were not in their best form. Analysts in Anuradhapura said that the poor ground conditions and wet weather hampered the meet.
In comparison Chandrika produced a 54.52 seconds feat to win the title at the last edition. Manula cleared 2.18 metres at the last edition.
Several leading coaches said that they advised their athletes to pull out from competitions due to poor condition of the ground after rain.
