Tharushi, Kalinga to compete in Spain

by Reemus Fernando

Asian Games gold medallist Tharushi Karunaratne and sprinter Kalinga Kumarage left for Spain on Friday to compete in a World Athletics Bronze lable event in Bilbao where they will seek to improve their ‘Road to Paris 24’ rankings.

With the qualification period for the Paris Olympics ending on June 30, the competitions in the next couple of weeks will be vital for track and field athletes.

The 800 metres specialist Karunaratne is currently ranked 63rd in the ‘Road to Paris 24’ rankings and needs to improve that to be within the top 48 positions or clock 1:59.30 seconds to book her ticket to the Olympics before the June 30 deadline.

Kumarage is ranked 53rd in the men’s 400 metres and needs to clock 45.00 seconds or improve the ranking to be within the top 48 positions. He has a seasonal best of 45.35 seconds while his personal best is 45.07 seconds.

They are expected to compete on June 18.

Fellow 400 metres sprinter Aruna Dharshana who is in the 54th position in the ranking is expected to compete in the Bahamas on Sunday.

Meanwhile, leading javelin throwers Dilhani Lekamge and Diana Maduwanthi in the women’s category and Sumeda Ranasinghe and Rumesh Tharanga in the men’s category will compete in the second edition of the Asian Throwing Championships in Mokpo, South Korea today.