Yodasinghe advances to semi-finals of Asian Senior Athletic Championships NO SHOW BY YUPUN IN 100M RACE

Yupun Abeykoon

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka’s star sprinter Yupun Abeykoon did not compete in the Men’s 100m heats on the opening day of the 26th Asian Senior Athletic Championships, which began in Gumi, South Korea yesterday.

Yupun has not taken part in regional international competitions since winning the 100m bronze medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games Citing various reasons including injury.

Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) had entered him in the Men’s 100, 200 and 4x100m relay events.

The Sports Ministry had also paid his air fare from Italy to Korea.

“He could not take part in the 100m event because he had arrived in South Korea just six hours before his race and was apparently suffering from jet lag. However, he confirmed participating in the 4x100m relay event,” SLA General Secretary Saman Kumara Gunawadena told Daily Mirror. 

In Yupun’s absence, Chamod Yodasinghe rose to the occasion in a very competitive event. Competing in the second heat, Chamod impressed by finishing first with a time of 10.40s, thereby advancing to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s ace javelin thrower Dilhani Lekamge secured sixth place in the Women’s final.  

Lekamge produced a best throw of 55.53m, which placed her in sixth position overall, however, it was not quite enough for a podium finish.

The gold medal in this event was claimed by China’s Su Lingdan with an impressive throw of 63.29m.

In the Women’s 400m, Nishendra Fernando, who competed in the first heat, clocked 53.81s, which placed her fourth in her heat. Unfortunately, that timing was not sufficient to make the cut for the final.

However, Nadeesha Ramanayake, running in the second heat, posted a slightly faster time of 53.77s, enough to earn her a spot in the final.

In the men’s 400m, Aruna Darshana, competing in the first heat of the opening round, recorded a time of 48.10s, which placed him sixth in his heat but was not good enough to progress to the next stage.

However, Kalinga Kumar, running in the third heat, clocked 46.59s, finishing second and thereby securing qualification for the semi-final round.

Kalinga went on to run 45.74s in the semi-final, again finishing second in his heat and qualified for the final with the second-fastest time overall from the semis.

Earlier, in the Men’s high jump Lesandu Arthawidu, competing in Group B, comfortably cleared a height of 2.10m and earned a well-deserved spot in the final round.