Asian Games star Tharushi to run at Tarbat Meet

By Susil Premalal 

Asian Games Gold Medallist Tharushi Karunaratne will make her final appearance at school level when she competes in the 51st Ritzbury Sir John Tarbat Athletic Championships 2023, which will be held from November 3 to 5 at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.   

 
The schoolgirl from A. Rathnayake Central College, Walala will by vying for top honours after her heroics at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China where she clinched the Gold 
Medal in the Women’s 800m final.   

Sri Lanka’s dynamic middle-distance runner Karunaratne overcame all odds and a star-studded line-up to finish the race with a time of 2:03.20s with India claiming the Silver Medal and China securing the Bronze Medal.

Tharushi’s success at the Asian Games had a great amount of significance as Sri Lanka won a Gold Medal after a lapse of 21 years.

Meanwhile, Over 3,000 schoolboys and girls have qualified for this meet after their outstanding performances during the preliminary round of this event, held at the provincial level.  
The Western Province events were held at the Bandaragama National Stadium, Southern, Uva and Sabaragamuwa Provincial events were held at the Beliatta Public Grounds, Central, North Central, and North Western Provincial events were held at the Digana Grounds in Kandy while the Jaffna Schools and Eastern Provincial competitions were held at the Duraiappa Stadium.