Yupun Abeykoon and Palitha Bandara won two medals in a span of half an hour today in the morning. The two Sri Lankan medalists who embraced each other upon winning, will be seen on the podium tonight at 11.00PM onwards.
Yupun Abeykoon clocking 10.14s created history by becoming the first Asian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the Men’s 100m and also the first medal in Athletics since 1998 where Siryani Kulawansa and Sugath Thilakaratne came home with a Silver and Bronze. Duncan White was the first and only Gold medalist in Athletics on 1950. African continent runners Ferdinand Omanyala and Akani Simbine finished faster to claim the Gold and Silver.
At the same time, Para Athlete Palitha Bandara won the Silver medal according to the Raza Points system when he recorded his personal best throw of 44.20m in the F42-44 Men’s Discus Throw. Aled Davies (F42) of Wales won Gold and fellow Welshman Harrison Walsh (F44) claimed the Bronze. Palitha finished 4th in Shot Put at the Tokyo Paralympics and changed discipline in a short time, and now he has a Commonwealth Silver.
With such a poetic end to a historic day, it should also be noted that there were other Sri Lankans with significant performances.
Thimali Haputanne in the Women’s 87+ kg weight category lifted 199kg, an all time highest in Sri Lanka Women’s weightlifting. Kalinga Kumarage qualified to the Men’s 400m Semi Finals as a next fastest runner. Badminton saw two wins by Dumindu Abeywickrama and veteran Niluka Karunaratne in the round of 64.
A few disappointments were also seen yesterday as Ushan Widanapathirana came short of his personal best in weightlifting and mixed doubles pairs in squash lost their matches as well. Judoka Hiruni Imesha, Boxers Keshani Hansika and Nadeeka Pushpakumari all lost their fights.
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