Sri Lanka target five athletics medals

Doha, December 6 – Everyone agrees that around five medals could not be too much of a problem for the Sri Lankans, but no one knows for sure where the gold is going to come from when the much-anticipated track and filed competition of the Asian Games start today at the Al Khalifa stadium.

There are Susanthika Jayasinghe and that affable high-jumper Manjula Kumara Wijesekera. Officials here say that the young sprint prodigy, Prasanna Amarasekera could be a medal winner but no one will put his money on him as the athlete has proved a failure in almost all international meets he competed. The reason of course, they say, is the lack of confidence.

The other medal prospect, they say, at the Games would be the men’s 4×400 relay quartet, but again given the athletes’ recent form where they have failed to go below the 3 minute 4 seconds mark, one would not be surprised if they fail to make it to the final eight.

"We are looking at winning at least five medals but it’s hard to say whether they would be gold, silver or bronze," said Dervin Perera, the team manager.

"But certainly we can achieve our target of five medals," he added.

Sri Lanka’s star-sprinter and former Olympic bronze medallist Jayasinghe was at her best during the recent South Asian Games clocking 11.34 secs and 22.99 secs in 100 and 200 metres but whether the recent illness has had any effect on her performances remains to be seen.

Jayasinghe will be challenged by Bahrain’s Rakia Al-Gassra. Jayasinghe, who pulled out of the 200 metres after winning the 100m in Busan, is back in action and in form while the lesser-known 24-year-old Al-Gassra has been already hailed as the torch-bearer for Arab women athletes.

On the other had high jumper Manjula has not been in the best of form this season following a twisted ankle. Yet there is something in his approach that suggests that he could find his form back in Doha. His stature as the reigning Asian Athletic Champion would be a huge advantage that will surely boost up his morale, and if he can produce what he is capable of, a gold medal would be a possibility. His main challenge will come from the Chinese teenager Huang Haiqiang, world junior champion, who has cleared 2.32 metres, this season.

Geetha Nandani will open the tack and filed competition for the Sri Lankans when she competes in the women’s 20km walk. With no major international awards under her belt, the 29-year-old may not come out a winner but one would expect her to finish among the best eight competitors at the meet considering her present form.

In what is seen as a major test ahead of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, hundreds of athletes from around the region will take part in the games’ track and field events, which account for 45 of the overall gold medals. -The Island