No medals but Sri Lankans set domestic indoor records

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka’s athletes delivered some performances at the 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held from February 6–8 in Tianjin, China, despite not securing any medals. 

The event, organised jointly by the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) and Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), featured over 300 athletes representing 35 countries across the continent.

A seven-member Sri Lankan team represented the nation breaking four new national indoor records. Among the performances, Madushani Herath set new records in the women’s long jump (6.11m, previous 6.06m) and triple jump (13.10m, previous 12.77m). 

Rasara Wijesuriya established a new women’s 3000m indoor record, finishing in 9:22.97 (previous 9:45.35) while Pasindu Malshan broke the men’s triple jump record with a 15.70m leap (previous 15.25m).

China dominated the championships with a total of 34 medals (10 gold, 11 silver, 13 bronze) while India secured five medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), ranking sixth overall among participating nations. 

Sri Lanka’s record-breaking feats came after limited domestic activity and administrative challenges within the country’s athletics sector over the past year.

Coaches and officials said that the performances reflect a high level of talent and the achievements also signal promising potential for future international competitions.