An 11-member Sri Lankan team arrived in China today to compete in the first and second legs of the Asian Grand Prix at Jiaxing and Jinhua, China from today till April 27. The third and final leg will be held in Chinese, Taipei on April 30.
The Sri Lankan team comprised six men and five women athletes but did not include experienced Asian gold medalist Manjula Kumara (high jump) who unfortunately had to miss the championship due to poor health.
Sri Lankan sprinter Himasha Eshan who trained in Jamaica and Risa Gazemy of Iran will vie for 100m event today. Himasha’s best time is 10.25 seconds while Gazemy has clocked a best time of 10.04 seconds. Himasha has improved his skills in Jamaica recently and is expected to beat his Iranian opponent for the gold medal.
Eshan who is South Asia’s fastest sprinter said, “This is my first race after the Jamaican training. The climate in Jinhua is very cold, it is not suitable for races. But I’ll try my best to win a gold medal.”
Nimali Liyanaarachchi and Gayanthika Abeyratne will clash with each other in the women’s 800m event while Wang Chen of China and Tintu Luca of India are also among the main challengers for the gold. Nimali will not compete in the 400m event because of 800m and 400m events are held on the same day according to coach Sujith Nilantha.
Asian medallist Poovamma Raju of India will not participate in the first and second legs of the championship as she has not got her Chinese visa. Thus Gayanthika Abeyratne gets a golden opportunity to win a gold medal in the 400m event.
Rumeshika Ratnayake (100m), Ajith Premakumara (400m), Indunil Herath (800m), Tharika Fernando (shot putt), Sanjaya Jayasinghe (triple jump) and Tharanga Vinodani (high jump) will be seen in action today.
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