Six SL athletes set to battle at Dhaka Marathon

The Sri Lanka Marathon Team with Coach and Manager 

By Susil Premalal
Sri Lanka will be represented by six athletes at the Bangabandhu Dhaka Invitation International Marathon for elite men and women in Dhaka, Bangladesh today. 
The Bangabandhu Dhaka Invitation International Marathon is one of the leading events in the South Asian region with the biggest prize money on offer to the winners and runners-up   
Thalawaruge Rathnapala, Nimal Karunaratne and Mutthusami Sivarajan will compete in the Elite Men’s event while Samanthika Dilhani, Lanka Ariyadasa and Nimesha Nidarshani will participate in the Elite Women’s event.

Meanwhile, Rohitha Gunaratne is touring with the six-member Sri Lankan contingent as the Coach while N. A. T. Jayasinghe is the Manager. 
Over 100 top marathon runners from over 10 countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Morocco, Uganda, Lithuania and Ukraine are set to compete in this event.    
The Bangabandhu Dhaka Invitation International Marathon has been organised by the Bangladesh Athletic Association since 2021 to commemorate the founder of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.    
The winner of the elite race will receive a cash award of US $15,000, second place US $10,000 and third place US $5,000. 
In addition, the competitors from the South Asian region and the host nation will receive separate cash awards.