On the first day of the Sri Lanka Athletics National Championships 2023, Indian javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena and long-distance runner Seema both won gold medals. On the opening day of the three-day tournament, Indian competitors won four medals, two gold and two silver.
Kishore Jena won the competition with a best throw of 84.38m, a new personal best, at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Kishore Jena, 27 year old, previously set a personal best of 82.87m in the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, last month. His performance on Friday also set a new meet record. Kishore Jena’s 84.38m throw this year ranks 10th among the world’s top javelin throwers. Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic leads the globe with 89.51m.
Shivpal Singh, another Indian javelin thrower, won silver with a throw of 77.36m. DP Manu was also scheduled to compete in Colombo but did not show up.
Seema finished first in the women’s 10,000m with a time of 35:39.22s. She was the only Indian among the ten ladies competing.
Siva Subramani of India won silver in the men’s pole vault event, clearing 4.90m. The 27-year-old athlete owns the Indian national pole vault record of 5.31m. M.H.I. Sandaruwan took gold in the event.
On the first day of competition, eight finals were conducted.
On Saturday, Indian competitors Jisna Mathew and Soniya Baishya will compete in the women’s 400m final. After winning their respective heats, both advanced to the medal round.
The three-day event will include a total of 27 Indian athletes. Athletes from the Maldives, in addition to Indians, are competing at the 101st Sri Lankan athletics nationals.
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