Yupun Abeykoon hangs up, says he’ll talk later

Yupun Abeykoon

Sri Lanka sprint champion Yupun Abeykoon announced his retirement yesterday, a decision he said he was compelled to make while avoiding making any direct references to the decision to hang up his boots. He was the only South Asian to run the 100 metres under 10 seconds when he achieved the feat by clocking 9.96 seconds at what was called the Resisprint International in Switzerland in 2022.

Abeykoon also held the South Asian and Sri Lanka 100 metre sprint records. He did not state any reason for retiring at age 31 but his parting statement left something to ponder on the state of athletics in the country.

“The decision to retire from sports when there was still time to play was by no means an easy one to make. But in the end it was a decision I couldn’t help but make. Let’s talk about why and what happened.

“Let’s talk about the current state of sports in Sri Lanka. There are so many experiences to share. See you in the next chapter”, Abeykoon said in a statement he put out on Social media. Based in Italy where he was working and training Abeykoon further stated: “I would like to take this opportunity to salute every Italian professional who has spent his/her efforts, hopes time and money for my achievements (Sri Lanka achoevements)”.

He also represented Sri Lanka at the Tokyo Olympics and failed to make headway.