Yupun Abeykoon storms into 100m final
Kumarage advances to 400m semis
South Asia’s fastest man Yupun Priyadarshana Abeykoon created history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to feature in the men’s 100 metre final in the history of the Commonwealth Games.
Abeykoon running from lane seven clocked 10.20 seconds in the third semifinal to qualify for the blue riband event at the XXI Commonwealth Games in the Alexander Stadium last night.
Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala clocked the fastest time of 10.02 seconds to win the second semifinal while defending champion Akani Simbine of South Africa won the first semifinal in 10.07.
Sri Lanka’s Kalinga Kumarage (second left) finished fourth in the 400 metres heats at Alexander Stadium yesterday.
Abeykoon clocked the fastest time of 10.06 in the heats but booked his berth in the final as one of the fastest qualifiers after finishing fourth behind Jeremiah Azu (10.15) of Wales ad Benjamin Azamati (10.18) of Ghana, before being pipped at the post by Nigeria’s Raymond Ekevwo. The 100m final was due to take place at 2 a.m., today local time.
Sri Lanka’s leading woman pugilist was no match for Northern Ireland’s Carly McNaul yesterday morning while 400 metre champion Kalinga Kumarage qualified to the semifinals of the 400 metres which takes place tomorrow (Friday) night.
Kalinga Kumarage running in lane six clocked 46.53 seconds to finish fourth in heat one but advanced to the semifinals as one of the three fastest qualifiers (q) along with the three winners of the seven heats.