Sports
Tharushi basks in Asian Games glory
Sri Lanka bounce back from mixed relay disappointment to bag four medals
By Reemus Fernando
From athletics administrators to so-called track and field experts who have been criticizing schools’ coaches for ruining the careers of budding athletes and have been placing the blame for the medal drought at international level on schools’ coaches during the last couple of decades. But finally, it was a schoolgirl trained by a schools coach who ended the decades long gold medal drought at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China yesterday.
Ratnayake Central, Walala prodigy Tharushi Karunaratne beat the experienced Chinese Olympian Wang Chunyu in the home straight in the women’s 800 metres final to deliver Sri Lanka’s first Asian Games gold medal in 21 years. In a tactically slow race Karunaratne sprinted in the last 60 metres to overtake the Chinese duo and etched her name in gold before returning in less than 50 minutes to anchor the women’s 4×400 metres team to bronze.
The athlete trained by Susantha Fernando clocked 2:03.20 seconds to win her third gold medal in the two lap race at Asian level this year. She commenced the gold medal hunt with the Asian Junior Championship gold and followed that up at the Asian Championship before beating a strong field inclusive of an Olympic finalist in Hangzhou yesterday.
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- The bronze winning women’s 4×400 metres team (from left) Jayeshi Uththara, Lakshima Mendis, Tharushi Karunaratne and Nadeesha Ramanayake.
She became the first Sri Lankan schoolgirl since Damayanthi Dharsha (1994) to win a medal at the Asian Games. The 18-year-old who was once refused entry to Digana Stadium for not paying entry fees for training is now among a selected number of Sri Lankans to have won gold medals at Asian Games. She is the seventh Sri Lankan to have won an individual gold medal at the Asian Games and only the third woman behind Susanthika Jayasinghe and Damayanthi Dharsha to have accomplished such a task.
Sri Lanka won a total of three medals yesterday and concluded the track and field campaign with four medals, the highest number since winning three golds and two bronzes in 1998.
Tharushi also became the first athlete from Sri Lanka to win a medal in the 800 metres at these Games. Incidentally, 4×400 metres medal too was the country’s first in the Games history.
Sri Lanka were uncertain about fielding a women’s 4×400 metres team but the team’s success at the recent Asian Athletics Championships fueled new hopes forcing authorities to make late requests to field a team.
The team comprising of Nadeesha Ramanayake, Jayeshi Uththara, Lakshima Mendis and Tharushi did not disappoint as they established a new Sri Lanka record in winning the bronze in a time of 3:30.88 seconds. Tharushi played a crucial role in winning the medal after receiving the baton in the fourth position. She pipped the Vietnam team to the fourth place with a stunning final lap clocked at 51.06 seconds.
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- The bronze winning men’s 4×400 metres team (from left) Aruna Dharshana, Rajitha Rajakaruna, Kalinga Kumarage and Pabasara Niku.
The men’s 4×400 metres relay team anchored by Kalinga Kumarage did well to secure the third place behind India and Qatar. Two days on from missing the mixed relay silver medal for an infringement of a lane rule Aruna Dharshana and Kumarage did their part together with Pabasara Niku and Rajitha Rajakaruna to return a time of 3:02.55 seconds. India won the gold in a time of 3:01.58 seconds, while Qatar returned a time of 3:02.05 seconds.
It was the first time since 2006 that the country won a medal in the men’s 4×400 metres relay, a discipline Sri Lanka had medal success on three previous occasions.
The track and field team finished with one gold, one silver and two bronzes. The silver medal was won by Dilhani Lekamge on Tuesday. She threw the javelin to a distance of 61.57 metres to become the first Sri Lankan thrower to win a medal at Asian Games.
On a day where the Sri Lanka’s cricket team were beaten by Afghanistan in the quarter-finals, the track and field athletes who persevere thanks largely to the support they gain from the tri forces have kept the country’s flag flying high in Hangzhou.
[Cricbuzz]
Former Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur has voiced disappointment over remarks made by Chairman of Selectors Pramodya Wickramasinghe, who last week claimed that Arthur was reluctant to include a young Pathum Nissanka during Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean in 2021.
In his first media briefing, Wickramasinghe said it was he who pushed for Nissanka’s inclusion despite Arthur’s reservations. The former coach has flatly denied the allegation, calling it wide of the mark.
“I am very disappointed with Pramodya’s comments,” Arthur told Telecom Asia Sport. “The right people know exactly how I felt about Pathum. There was never any doubt that he was our future. I don’t want any credit for Pathum’s success. That belongs entirely to his hard work. I simply gave him an opportunity because the talent was impossible to ignore.”
Arthur said Nissanka’s domestic form had left little room for debate. “He was scoring runs for fun and the sheer weight of them made it impossible not to take a look. Once he joined the squad on tour, his attitude and work ethic were truly remarkable. From that moment, there was no doubt this bloke was going places,” Arthur added.
Even before Nissanka’s elevation to the senior side, Arthur had publicly spoken of his admiration for young prospects such as Nissanka and Charith Asalanka, stressing the importance of giving emerging players a long rope. His view was simple: once talent is identified and the attitude checks out, selectors and team management must back those players through thick and thin.
Arthur arrived in Sri Lanka with a formidable résumé, having coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. He placed a premium on fitness and fielding and under his watch a team in transition began to show signs of turning the corner. At the end of his tenure, Arthur opted not to renew his contract and instead took up a stint in English county cricket with Derbyshire.
As for Nissanka, he has scarcely put a foot wrong since breaking into the side. There was a Test hundred on debut in the West Indies, followed last year by a match-winning unbeaten century against England at The Oval on a lively seaming pitch. In between, he made history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in ODIs. Last week, he was snapped up by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction.
Nissanka is currently ranked third in T20 internationals and is knocking on the door of the top ten in both Tests and ODIs.
73rd National Badminton Championship
Defending champions Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage made a fitting end to their campaigns of the 2025 season, by defending the Men’s and Women’s Open Singles titles as Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige clinched the Women’s Open Doubles title at the 73rd National Badminton Championship, concluded at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Sports Complex, Mount Lavinia on Wednesday (24).
Viren clinically overcame each of his opponents from the Round of 32, all in straight sets, to reach the final. The country’s top Men’s Singles shuttler continued his form against Rasindu Hendahewa in the final, winning in straight sets to defend the title. Viren defeated Rasindu 21-10 and 21-14 to win his second national title in style.
Ranithma aptly defended her Women’s Open Singles title by recording a comfortable straight sets win against Rashmi Mudalige in an absorbing final that lasted nearly 45 minutes. Though the title decider stretched way longer than anticipated, Ranithma managed to seal the victory by recording set wins of 21-12 and 21-18 to claim the national title for the second year running.
Fourth seed pair Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga created an upset by toppling top seeds Oshamika Karunarathne and Thulith Palliyaguru in a lengthy final that went down to the wire in the Men’s Open Doubles. Sanuda and Thisath won the first set 21-15, but the top pair bounced back to level the game one-all with a 21-18 win. But the gritty pair of Sanuda and Thisath maintained their composure to overcome the favourites 21-15 in the decider and claim the Men’s Open Doubles title.
Varangana Jayawardana and Rashmi Mudalige completed a successful campaign to defend the Women’s Open Doubles title from last year, this time overcoming the aspiring pair of Dilni Ambalangodage and Ranumi Manage in straight sets. Varangana and Rashmi remained unbeaten throughout, as they ended the unblemished run of Dilni and Ranumi with set wins of 21-13 and 21-18.
The Mixed Open Doubles title was claimed by Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari, who battled for 45 minutes to overcome Aashinsa Herath and Rashmi Mudalige 2-1 in the final. After conceding the first set by 12-21, Thulith and Panchali regrouped to claim the next two sets 21-18 and 21-15.
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