The Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka kept up their dominant performance from 2019 all the way into 2022 as they once again performed the best out of all the other teams on show at the Inter University Athletics Championships. The championships were back on show at the Sugathadasa Outdoor Track after a period of more than 3 years and it was clear to all present, that the athletes were out there to perform at their very best after a long hiatus.
In somewhat unexpected fashion, it was the University of Moratuwa who got off to the perfect start with the first gold medal of the event going to Ishari Abeysooriya in the Women’s long jump. When the next couple of medals in the Men’s Pole Vault (R.M.S Dilshan from the University of Ruhuna) and the Men’s Javelin Throw (R.M.L.D Ranasinghe from the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka) did not go to the usual suspects there was a feeling in the air that this year might be different from previous editions where Sabra and Japura had dominated.
However, from then on normal service resumed as both universities would go on to hoover up 14 of the 15 gold medals on offer from that point on starting with Chanuka Athapattu (USJP) in the Women’s Discus Throw. From then onwards, the action switched to the track where all eyes were on A.P.M.S.K Aberathna from the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Already the current meet record holder in the Women’s 400m from 2019, she would go on to demolish that time by a further 2 seconds in the heats before another dominant performance in the final, lowering the record by a further second on the way to a victory by more than 6 seconds over her closest competitor.
Japura would once again strike back in the Men’s 400m hurdles through Pasindu Punsara and then in the Women’s 200m through Harshani Fernando, who beat pre-race favourite and meet record holder Omaya Udayangani to the gold medal. At that point Japura had 3 golds to a solitary gold for Sabra but then it was the turn of Roshan Dhammika to come out on to the track. The current National Record Holder in the Men’s 110m hurdles was competing out of his comfort zone in the 200m, but would display his enduring class on the way to a new Meet Record in a blistering time of 22.04 seconds.
The Women’s 800m went the way of Japura to W.H. Dilhani before Sabra rebounded with victory in the Men’s event through W.G.I.L Jayathissa. All this while the field events were also taking place and it was here that Sabra were able to pull level on the gold medal count with wins in both the Women’s Javelin (A.M.T.M Aththanayaka) and the Women’s High Jump (G.Y.T Dinushika). However, N.P.L.K Pathirana would set the third Meet Record of the day with a massive throw of 42.90m in the Men’s Discus Throw, beating the previous record by more than 2 metres and drawing the two teams level on 5 golds each.
It was time to turn to the track once again, and to one of the signature events on show today as Sabra and Japura went head to head in the Women’s 4x100m relay. It was Sabra who entered as the favourites having broken the Meet Record in their heats and it would prove to be the case once again in the final as they dominated the race from start to finish winning by nearly 2 seconds. The Sabra men proved they were up to the task as well taking home the Men’s relay gold in another dominant performance.
The final event on track was the 5000m and it was the turn of the University of Kelaniya to take home their first gold of the day as L.R.N.L Wijethunga won the women’s race by a huge margin of 13 seconds. J.M.E.M Nayanajith would take home one last gold of the day to the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka in the Men’s event.
At the end of the day the University of Sabaragamuwa had won 9 of the 18 events on show today with Japura coming in with 5 wins as the Universities of Moratuwa, Rajarata, Ruhuna and Kelaniya picking up a single gold each. Going into day two it is sure to be another exhilarating contest as the two juggernauts of inter university athletics battle it out for ultimate supremacy.
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