Janidu Lakvijaya, the Sri Lanka national record holder from Gampaha District, broke a nine-year meet record in the Under-20 Boys 110m hurdles on the second day of the 34th National Youth Sports Festival held at Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday (18).
The former St Peter’s College hurdler, Lakvijaya, set a blazing pace in the heats, clocking 14.07 seconds and establishing a new meet record.
This achievement erased the previous record of 14.45 seconds, which had stood since the 2014 edition and was held by KPH Nirmal.
Despite this outstanding performance, 22-year-old Janidu’s national record remains at 13.82 seconds, a feat he accomplished during the National Trial in Diyagama in March this year.
Meanwhile, in the Under-20 Boys 4x100m heats, both the Ampara District relay quartet and the Matara District relay quartet set new meet records.
Ampara District quartet achieved a time of 41.99 seconds, while the Matara District team timed 41.38 seconds, surpassing the previous record set by the Puttalam District relay quartet in 2021.
In the Boys Over-20 10,000m finals, the gold medal was secured by M Gobinathan of Badulla District, who clocked an impressive 33:40.79.
The silver medal went to VS Dilshan of Moneragala with a time of 34:06.12, and the bronze medal was claimed by R Yadeeshan of Kandy District, who finished with a timing of 34:15.65.
Turning to the Girls Over-20 events, KS Lakshani of Gampaha District dominated the 800m, clocking 2:10.75 to secure the gold medal.
PV Ratnayake of Matale District and KD Madara of Galle District secured the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
In the boys Under-20 High Jump final, Jaffna District’s R Vinojan clinched the gold medal, while MM Tharuka of Kurunegala District won silver, and PN Pehesara of Matara District secured the bronze medal.
The 34th National Youth Sports Festival continues to showcase exceptional talent and witness the establishment of new records in various events.
(dailynews.lk)
