After top athletes failed to achieve qualifying standards for the IAAF World Championships at the trails held at the Sugathadasa Stadium over the weekend, Sri Lanka is likely to field two sprinters as wildcard entrants for the IAAF World Championships at the Lusophony Games to be held in Lisbon, Portugal.

With none of the top athletes coming even close to qualifying standards the selectors as their last resort are hoping to see whether any athlete would earn required standard in Portugal.

"Selectors had to opt for the next best athlete as wildcards due to the failure of top athletes at the trials" sources close to the SLAAA said.

The IAAF recognises only the qualifying standards achieved during the period January 1st 2008 to August 3rd 2009 and the last recognized meet that some of the best Sri Lankan athletes take part before the expiry date is the Lusophony Games which is to be held from July 11-19 in Lisbon, Portugal.

In the event of not achieving the required qualifying standards there, selectors might opt for Shehan Ambepitiya and Chandrika Subashini who are the only athletes to have shown promise at recent international events, sources said. The IAAF’s qualifying rules allow member federations to send two unqualified athletes, one male and one female when they do not have athletes who had earned qualifying standards.

The weekend’s trials saw Menaka Wickramasinghe and Rohan Pradeepkumara who represented Sri Lanka on numerous occasion being beaten in their pet events. The two have also not impressed in local events as of late.

In the Women’s 400 meters Subashini beat Menaka Wickramasinghe, her closest rival by almost a second while in the 200 meters, D.D.P Priyadharshani beat her pushing her to the second place.

Rohan Pradeep Kumara was beaten to be placed second in the men’s 200 meters by S.M. Weerasooriya of Sri Lanka Navy.