1st Asian Youth Games

Lahiru, Nadeeshani enter finals

By Samiddha Rathnayake reporting from Singapore

Dulaj Lahiru ran against all odds to qualify for the Boys 400m finals at the 1st Asian Youth Games athletic events held at Bhishan Stadium, Singapore yesterday. Lahiru who was the shortest contender in the first heat of his event resembled the presence of Sri Lankan champion middle distance runner Sugath Thilakaratne with his style of running.

Sri Lanka’s Nadeeshani Henderson (left) running in the heats to qualify for the Girls 400 metres final (Inset): Dulaj Lahiru who qualified for the Boys 400m final soon after the heats

Lahiru had a slight disadvantage running in the seventh lane, and he also did not have the best of starts compared to the rest of the contenders. With a reaction time of 0.332 secs at the start, he was soon pushed back to fifth position. During the first hundred metres, he was behind Meshal Aleezl of Kuwait and Nitipol Thongpoon of Thailand who pushed ahead of the rest. At the second bend, Lahiru managed to close the gap with a subtle change in the length of his strides. The tactical move helped him to hold on to third place. Until the final 200 metres it looked as if Lahiru had to settle for third place, but in the last 50 metres Lahiru produced an extra burst of speed to overtake Aleezl and finish second. The final of the event will be held tomorrow (July 2) at 5 pm Sri Lankan time.      
Nadeeshani Henderson became the other local athlete to enter the final as she secured third place in the 400m Girls’ event with a timing of 59.63sec. Running in the seventh lane Henderson perhaps couldn’t do justice to her potential but still held on to a comfortable second runner-up place. The final of the event will be held at 2.50 pm tomorrow.    
Nimesha Siriwardana, Sri Lankan high jumper achieved her personal best height of 1.64m to 1.65m in the Girls’ high jump to secure fourth position. Siriwardana managed to easily clear all the heights and at one stage she looked to be a prospective medal hope but unfortunately failed to clear the 1.68m mark.
In the other events held during the day, Heshan Amarasinghe finished fifth with a timing of 11.38 sec. in the third heat of the 100m Boys’ event. In the Girls’ edition of the event Akshana Maralanda came fifth with a time of 13.27sec. Both athletes failed to qualify for the final round.
Sri Lanka will have a busy schedule today when they participate in four disciplines. At Bhishan Stadium, where athletics is being held, Keshani Perera will take part in her 100m hurdles event at 2.30 pm, while at 3.30 pm middle-distance runner Indunil Herath will compete in the 800m event. Sri Lankan relay teams will be in action in the 4x200m events. The Boys’ heats will be held at 3.50 pm and at 4.20 pm the Girls’ teams will have their events scheduled. 
Sri Lankan basketball men’s team comprising Praneeth Udumalagala, Yohan Keyser, Anook Nimash de Fonseka and Clinton Devakumar will be tested against Nepal at 6.30 am today and the rest of their opponents will be Kazakhstan, Qatar and Korea.
Sri Lankan women’s basketball team is down to play in a tough group along with Philippines, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Their first game will be against Uzbekistan at 11.45 am Sri Lankan time tomorrow. Though their height is not all that great when compared to the rest of the three teams, the local lasses are reputed for their swift movements and fitness. Their morale has been at peak since arriving here. The team comprises Swairi Fernando, Dhushani Rajapakse, Jayani Ransari and Sanduni Udeshika
Table tennis will also start today with the Sri Lankan mixed team placed with Chinese Taipei, Japan, Macau, China and Maldives.