Sarangi Silva faces double hurdle ahead of finals
Jumper Sarangi Silva has the potential to give Sri Lanka's fifth medal - Pic by Sameera Peiris in Birmingham
The cold weather in Birmingham could spoil Sarangi Silva’s attempt to earn a podium finish in the women’s long jump on the penultimate day of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The 25-year-old Sri Lankan is among a star-studded line-up of 12 jumpers, rearing to go in search of a medal at the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games.
The temperature is set to hover around 22 Celsius when the event starts at 19 hours in England but is expected to drop as low as 15 Celsius.
“The weather is not really on our side,” said Y.K. Kularatne, the national athletics coach.
“The temperature was as low as 12 Celsius on Friday when Kalinga Kumarage (400m) and Nilani Ratnayake (3000m steeplechase) competed and we expect similar conditions on Sunday. This will be the biggest challenge Sarangi will face in addition to the host of top class jumpers.”
Kumarage finished seventh in the men’s 400m semi-final with a time of 47.00secs and was placed 16th in the overall standings while Rathnayake finished seventh in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final clocking 10.00.34secs
The long jump final will start at 11.35pm local time.
“But she is focused and in very good spirits. If she can better her own performances and add a few more centimeters, we have a good chance. But I must reiterate, the conditions are really tough,” Kularatne explained.
Sri Lanka has won two medals in track and field so far. Sprinter Yupun Abeykoon, who is based in Italy, clinched bronze in the men’s 100m dash while H.G. Palitha won a silver in the para discuss throw.
“Yupun is used to these conditions as he trains in Italy and even Palitha came two weeks early to get acclimatised. But for the rest of the players it’s very tough to perform in this cold,” he said.
Sarangi kept Sri Lanka’s hopes alive by leaping 6.42m in the qualifying round to book her berth in today’s finals. Earlier this year, she set a new Sri Lanka record of 6.65m to be the top jumper in the Asian region.
However, with the Asian Games being shifted to next year, she turned her focus on the Commonwealth Games. No Sri Lankan jumper has ever competed in a Commonwealth Games final. Thus, her feat on Friday was itself historic.
Sarangi also declined an opportunity to take part in last month’s World Championship in Oregon USA in order to focus on the Games. After withdrawing from the World Championships, she left to Poland to train and took part in a few competitions ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
The women’s long jump final includes the likes of Olympic bronze and World Championship silver medalist Ese Brume of Nigeria and World Indoor bronze medalist of England, Lorraine Ugen.
Meanwhile, Olympian Sumedha Ranasinghe will also be in action today. Ranasinghe is the national javelin record holder for seven years with a performance of 83.03m.