16 July 2023 04:05 pm
(Last Updated:- 04.56 p.m.)
Breaking a 25-year-old Asian Athletic Championship record, Sri Lanka's star athlete Tharushi Karunarathna won the gold medal in the 800m women's event on the last day of the 25th Asian Athletic Championship 2023 today.
Organised by the Asian Athletic Association (AAA), the tournament was held in Bangkok, Thailand, with the participation of athletes from 43 countries.
Tharushi broke the record of 2:01.16 set by Zhang Sian (China) in 1998 after completing the 800m event in 2:00.66 seconds.
Gayanthika Aberathna, who competed alongside Tharushi, was placed third after finishing in 2:03.25. This is her second medal at the championship.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka mixed relay team of Aruna Dharshana, Tharushi, Kalinga Kumara, and Nadeesha Ramanayaka set a new national record of 3:15.41 seconds as they won the silver medal in the 4x400m Mixed Relay.
It was the first time that Sri Lanka fielded a senior team at an international competition. The team shaved exactly 10 seconds from the previous record of 3:25.41. So far, Sri Lanka has had four international appearances (junior and senior) where Tharushi was a member of every relay team. This 3:15.41 ranks 33rd in the world's all-time rankings and 4th in Asia. It is also in 15th place in the world ranking as of today.
The gold medalists were India (3:14.70), while Japan (3:15.71) won bronze.
Tharushi became the second schoolgirl to win a medal after Damayanthi Darsha's performance in Manila in 1993.
Aruna became the first male athlete from Sri Lanka to win a medal at both the junior and senior championships. Tharushi is also the fourth female athlete to win a medal at both the Asian junior and senior championships after Damayanthi, Susanthika Jayasinghe, and Vidusha Lakshani.
Sri Lanka won a total of six medals, comprising two gold, one silver, and three bronze. (Susil Premalal)