A champion in the making
Aruna Dharshana leading all the way for a gold medal at the recently concluded SAJAC 2018 - File pic
The name Weerakeppitipola National School, Akuramboda will be etched in the memory of sport fans for quite sometime because of the feat of 19-year-old lad Aruna Dharshana, who stunned athletics fans in Sri Lanka by bagging three gold medals at last months South Asian Junior Athletics Championships (SAJAC) held in Colombo. The 200metres, the 400metres and the 4x400m relay event were all grist to his mill.
The Sunday Times caught up with this slim, tallish, softly-spoken youngster when he was practicing in Kandy. He let on that his first school was Dehiwatte MV in Serunuwara, Kantlalai. Shifting to his present school, he came under the eye of Asanka Rajakaruna, a 400m and 800m runner at Walala Central. Rajakaruna remains his coach to this day.
The turning point in Aruna Darshana’s short, but glittering, career came in 2015. Taking part in the 400metres flat and the 400metres Hurdles events he won them both, setting up national schools meet records.
He gave up the Hurdles event as it could lead to injury. Instead, he added the 200metres. Coach Asanka Rajakaruna says the quarter mile is his best event, while the 200m in the supporting one.
In his unstoppable passage to the top, Aruna enjoyed a lot of success in 2015, 2016 and 2017. He annexed the 400m and 200m title at the Sir John Tarbat and All-Islands Schools need in those years. For good measure, he also captured the 400metre title at the Junior Nationals.
In 2017 he was adjudged the Best Sprinter and the Best Athlete for his timing of 47.19 seconds in the 400metres. 2018 has been a stellar year for Aruna Darshana. He eclipsed the record held for some years by Manoj Pushpakumara by winning the 400metres in 46.59 seconds at the Junior Nationals. Not content to rest on his laurels, he also set a record in the 200metres, winning it in 21.38 seconds. All this from an athlete who was considered not so good in the sprint events, initially!
The highlights of his short career came over two days of competition at the Junior South Asian Championships. He won gold in the 200metres. But his best was yet to come. He eclipsed the other competitions in a blazing 46.55 second run that won him gold as well as a new record.
He came up with another sensational run in the final event of that championship. The 4x400m relay. Aruna received the baton for the anchor leg six or seven metres behind the Indian. He made light of all that as he passed his Indian opponent and breasted the tape well ahead of the others. Truly, a dazzling run that produced great joy in the Sri Lankan camp.
W.P. Wimaladasa of the Army had a sensational Asian Games in 1974, winning the 400metres gold as well as sharing in the 4x400m relay gold. After that, there were the exploits of Sugath Tillekaratne who reigned supreme at Asian Level. The country has not exactly been blessed with quarter milers of class and quality. This could be the next one if given a lot of exposure at the right time.
Aruna says he will continue with Athletics after leaving school once he sits the A/L exams in August. His progress will be followed by many.