World Indoor Athletics Championship

Sri Lanka men’s 4×400 metres relay team established a new national indoor record at the World Indoor Athletics Championship concluded in Nanjing China yesterday.

The team inclusive of Kalinga Kumarage, Randima Madushan, Shashintha Silva and Sadew Rajakaruna finished fifth in the 4×400 metres final won by the USA. Their finishing time of 3:10.58 seconds improved on the previous mark held by Prasanna Amarasekara, Rohitha Pushpakumara, Shivantha Weerasooriya and Asoka Jayasundara in 2007.

The women’s team ran in an indoor event for the first time. They too finished fifth in the final.

The semi-final berths secured by sprinter Chamod Yodasinghe and hurdler Kaveesha Bandara in their respective events were the high points of the Sri Lankan contingent during the three-day World Indoor Championships concluded on Sunday.

Yodasinghe reached the semi-finals of the 60 metres dash with a remarkable sprint performance on day one of the Championship.

Competing in heat two Yodasinghe clocked 6.70 seconds. It was also the finishing time clocked by USA’s Coby Hilton and Switzerland’s William Reais, who were separated by photofinish. Coby Hilton, William Reais and Yodasinghe were given the first, second and third places respectively.

Yodasinghe could not produce such a performance in the semi-final but his appearance in the semi-final will augur well when the world rankings are updated.

Bandara advanced to the semi-finals with a 7.87 seconds feat in the fourth heat of the 60 metres hurdles on Saturday. He could not make an impact in the semi-final but the semi-final appearance is going to stand him in good stead.

by Reemus Fernando