By Champika Fernando

Sprint-queen Susanthika Jayasinghe, Sugath Tilekaratne and Rohan Pradeep Kumara, following their excellent performances at the concluded 14th Asian track and field Championships, have earned berths to represent the Asian team at the forthcoming Athletic World Cup in Spain.

The 14th Asian track and field Championships was the selection trial for athletes for the World Cup which will be held on 21st and 22nd of September.

Maurice Nicholas, Secretary General Asian Athletic Association, told ‘The Island’ that Jayasinghe, who won two gold medals at the championships, will be the only athlete to compete in two individual events while Tilekaratne and Rohan Pradeep will team up the 4x400 relay team.

"Basically its the winner of each individual events who will make the Asian team for the World Cup. But with regard to 4x400 relay , we have decided to include the first four places in the 400m sprint, said Nicholas.

Jayasinghe won both 100m and 200 sprint events with ease. Tilekaratne and Rohan Pradeep won third and fourth places respectively in the 400m sprint to book their places in the Asian team.

Both Tilekaratne and Rohan also guided the Sri Lankan team to victory in the 4x400 relay in the final event of the Asian Championships which concluded at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Monday.

Nicholas said that he expected a larger team from Sri Lanka for the forthcoming event but added that it was unfortunate to miss a few star athletes like Sriyani Kulawansa and Damayanthi Darsha in the Asian team..

"They are two classy athletes, who should have been in the side but we have to ignore them," commented Nicholas.

Kulawansa failed to live up to the expectation of the selectors. She ended up with a silver medal while Damayanthi Darsha pulled out from her individual events due to a hamstring injury.

According to Nicholas a team of approximately 60 athletes will represent the Asian region at the forthcoming Championships. He went on to add that the event would be an exciting one as lot of money is involved.

" Its all money and will be a tough event for the participants. Hope the athletes will do their best," Nicholas further said.