Over 700 athletes to vie at National Meet

By Susil Premalal  

The 102nd National Athletic Championship 2024 conducted by Sri Lanka Athletic (SLA) will commence today and conclude on Thursday at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama.  

Over 700 elite athletes are set to participate in this meet - the last major event in the SLA calendar - and the final chance for the Sri Lankan athletes to achieve the elusive Paris Olympic Qualifying standards.   

Among the notable athletes to compete at the Nationals are Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist Yupun Abeykoon (Men’s 100m), Hangzhou Asian Games Gold Medallist Tharushi Karunarathna (Women’s 400m), Kalinga Kumarage (Men’s 400m), Aruna Dharshana (Men’s 400m), Dilhani Lekamge, Sumedha Ranasinghe, Tharanga Niroshana (Men’s and Women’s javelin throw).  

In addition, a few top Indian athletes are also set to participate in the Nationals, SLA sources revealed yesterday.