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| Sunday, 28 July 2002 |
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Chinthaka strikes gold after long lay off by Dinesh Weerawansa Former SAF Games gold medallist Chinthaka de Zoysa bagged men's 100m gold medal on the second day of the 80th Sri Lanka National Championships continued at the Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo on Friday. De Zoysa (Sri Lanka Army), who has failed to live up to expectations in recent times after recovering from an ankle injury, showed signs of his old touch. He clocked 10.74 seconds to finish first and look certain to secure a place in the Sri Lanka team for next month's Asian Championships in Colombo. It was de Zoysa who challenged Beijing Asian Games double medallist Sriyantha Dissanayake's dominance as the fastest man in Sri Lanka but has been challenged by his fellow soldiers in recent times. K.S. Mendis, also of Sri Lanka Army, accounted for the silver medal in men's 100m with a timing of 10.83, followed by the bronze medallist from Gampaha DAAA - Joy Danushka Perera - 10.92. The absence of Asian Games gold medallist Sugath Tillakaratne, Asian championship double gold medallist Rohan Pradeep Kumara and Ranga Wimalawansa was badly felt in men's 400m, which did not produce encouraging timings. With five of Sri Lanka's top 400m sprinters in Manchester, Army's I.M.R.Pushpakumara clocked a leisurely 48.71 seconds to take the gold medal, followed by R.P.Sujith Tharanga of Police SC (49.11) and sailor H.D.Y.P.K.Wimalasena (49.12). The women's 400m final too missed the Lankan glamour girl and Asian Games double gold medallist Damayanthi Darsha, who is currently taking part in Manchester Commonwealth Games with 16 other top Sri Lanka athletes. P.M.D.P.Wickremasinghe clocked 55.96 second to take women's 400m gold medal, followed by K.L.L.Gunawardena and Swarnamali Edirisinghe. Among the other gold medallists on day two of the four-day meet were Jani Chathurangani Silva of SL Air Force (women's 100m - 12.35 sec.), Chathuri Kodikara (women's high jump) and M.A.Chandrawathi of Anuradhapura DAAA (35 mts, 59.29 sec. In women's 10,000m). Jani Chathurangani too had an easy passage as five of Sri Lanka's top women sprinters are in Manchester to form the 4 x 100m women's relay team. Today is the third day of the four-day meet conducted by the Amateur Athletic Association of Sri Lanka under the guidance of its President Sunil Jayaweera and will commence at 9 am. The meet will serve as the final trial to pick the 105-member Sri Lanka team for next month's Asian Athletic Championships at the same venue. |
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