Sports

Teenagers close the gap of standards at National Championship

Published

12 months ago

2025/08/6

The 19-year-old Ayomal Akalanka was among the best performers of the meet.

The men’s 400 metres of the 103rd National Athletics Championship saw as many as four teenagers advancing to the final with Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte sprinter Kalhara Idupa securing a well deserving podium place. The obsession of the one lap race has powered schools athletes to be on par with the seniors and close the gap of standards.

It was no surprise as teenagers had already featured alongside seniors at this year’s Asian Championships and the World Indoor Championships in the 4×400 metres relays. Idupa won the silver medal of the men’s 400 metres with a feat of 46.32 seconds.

Sadev Rajakaruna and Omel Shashintha who are 18 and 17 years old respectively finished fourth and fifth. I.M. Bogoda was the other teenager to feature in the final. Rajakaruna also secured a bronze in the 200metres final.

The 400 metres was not the only event that saw teenage heroics. Vishwa Piyumika Dhanasekara another teenager clocked 1:52.72 seconds featuring in the men’s 800m final.

Kalhara Idupa won the silver medal in the
men’s 400 metres.

In endurance events, Ilango Vikirthan from Poovarasankulam Maha Vidyalaya, Vavuniya and Lahiru Achintha of St. Aloysius’ College, Rathnapura stoodout brushing shoulders against seniors. While Vikirthan secured bronze medals in the 5000 metres and 3,000m steeplechase, the 16-year-old Achintha clocked a remarkable time of 15:03.45 seconds to settle for the fourth place in the 5,000m.

Ambagamuwa Central hurdler Ayomal Akalanka was probably the best performer among school athletes in the men’s category at the National Championship. His gold medal winning performance of 50.27 seconds in the 400 metres hurdles rates among the best performers of the meet. He was also adjudged the best hurdler. The 19-year-old Dineth Chethiya was the other athlete to medal with a feat of 2.10 metres in the men’s high jump.

In the women’s category, Senari Wijetunga won silver in the 200m, Nuhansa Kodithuwakku (silver in 800m), Tharushi Abisheka (bronze in 1500m), Shehara Karunarathne (bronze in 400m hurdles), Dewmini Abeyrathna (bronze in high jump) and Dhananjana Fernando (4th in 100m) were among the school athletes to shine.

While the schools athletes have continued to raise the standards, there is certainly a drop in standards in the senior category. Analysts attribute the drop in standards in the senior category to the drop in the number of recruitments by Tri Forces. The Army, Navy and Air Force have been in the forefront of recruiting emerging athletes to their athletics pools yearly. But that has changed drastically during the last few years. Alarm bells are ringing.

by Reemus Fernando

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Published

19 hours ago

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Thilina Walpola

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The termination follows the franchisee’s inability to fulfil its financial obligations under the terms of the franchise agreement. As a result, all rights relating to the Jaffna Kings franchise have reverted to IPG, which, together with Sri Lanka Cricket, has assumed full operational control of the team.

IPG confirms that the 6th edition of the LPL will proceed as scheduled and Jaffna Kings will continue to participate in the tournament under the same nomenclature, with no changes to the squad, tournament format, or match schedule.

To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the franchise, IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket have taken complete responsibility for all player, coaching staff, and support staff contracts. The organizers also confirm that all logistical arrangements for the team have been secured, ensuring the squad is intact for the tournament.

Furthermore, approximately 90% of all player and staff payments have already been completed, with the remaining payments to be settled in accordance with contractual commitments.

IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket remain committed to delivering a successful sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League while upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and transparency for players, teams, commercial partners, and fans.