The Air Force sprinter Chandrika Subashini and Army’s long jumper Sampath Dissanayake topped the day’s best performances in the women’s and men’s categories respectively, while sailor Hasith Nirmal established a new meet record in the men’s 110 metres on day two of the Defence Services Athletics Championships at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Tuesday.
Sampath Dissanayake’s 7.47 metres feat in the men’s long jump stood out as day’s top performance of the meet as it fetched him as many as 1023 points (according to IAAF points table). While Amila Jayasiri of Air Force settled for silver with a feat of 7.38 metres, P. Wimalasiri took bronze with a jump of 7.36 metres.
The much looked forward to 400 metres events had a delayed start in the afternoon due to rehearsals for today’s closing ceremony but the leading sprinters kept up to their billing as they returned some impressive performances.
The country’s leading 400 metres sprinter Subashini maintained her supremacy in the track winning her pet event with a feat of 53.71 seconds, while Army’s Upamali Ratnakumari and Air Force’s Nimal Liyanarachchi finished second and third respectively. Upamali finished in a time of 54.76 seconds, while Nimali who won the 800 metres on day one returned a time of 55.61 seconds to finish third.
The men’s 400 metres saw Kasun Kalhara Seneviratne returning to form as he pipped Chanaka Jayasekara to the second place in a photo finish. Seneviratne returned a time of 47.58 seconds. Jayasekara clocked 47.60 seconds. Anjana Gunaratne was third with a time of 47.70 seconds.
Navy’s Nirmal produced the only new meet record of the second day as he clocked 14.41 seconds to beat teammate A.S.S. Amaratunga by 0.38 seconds to win the gold in the men’s 110metres hurdles.
Asian Games participant Nadeeka Lakmali, against whom the Athletics Association of Sri Lanka has initiated a disciplinary inquiry, won the women’s javelin with a feat of 53.34 metres. But the big gap she generally maintains against her closest rival has drastically reduced to less than a metre. Her former training partner Dilhani Lekamge settled for silver with a throw of 52.43 metres.
(The results of the men’s and women’s 400 metres are not the official results.)
