Tharushi Karunarathne , the jewel in Sri Lanka’s Crown. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE.(Elanka Sports Editor)
Sri Lanka’s Tharushi Karunarathne dispelled all the myth around size and muscle mass as she burned a trail to beat off a formidable field to win Gold at the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The lithe and diminutive Sri Lankan flyer paced her 800 meter run to perfection saving the final burst from around 100 metres to sprint past China’s Wang Chunyu as a stunned stadium watched her blitz the field.
The slightly built 18 year old became the jewel in the country’s crown winning Sri Lanka’s solitary Gold medal and then added to her glory anchoring the women’s relay team that won Bronze.
India’s Harmilan Bains snuck past a tiring Wang Chunyu to take Silver.
Sri Lanka have not won Gold at the Asian Games for 21 years. The last was by Susanthika Jayasinghe who won Gold in the 100 meters and Damayantha Darsha who won Gold in the 400 metre events.
Sri Lanka ended with five medals, one Gold, two Silver and two Bronze in what could have been a better return.
The efforts of Tharushi Karunarathne and the others who were a success indicates the talent and potential in the Island nation that could achieve much more with proper support and nurturing by the country’s sporting administration.
