Two young female Sri Lankan athletes have been disqualified from their sprint event due to not arriving on time for the event at the 2025 Asian Youth Athletics Championships held in Saudi Arabia.
According to the coach of one female athlete, the two sprinters were supposed to report for the women’s U-18 1500 metre event 35 minutes before commencement, but the accompanying authorities had failed to report on time.
“The event was at 6.40. The athletes who had to report at 6.10 for the first call had been brought to the event at 6.20. Therefore, they had been disqualified. A manager, three coaches, and a female officer accompanied the Sri Lankan team. The disqualification has been caused due to their lack of care. They need to take care of all the athletes and not just their students,” he added.
Pointing out that both Sri Lankan athletes, Niduki Prarthana and Ayesha Sewwandi, held a timing of 4 minutes and 41 seconds and 4 minutes and 43 seconds, the coach said they could have easily defeated the Chinese athlete who won the event with a timing of 4 minutes and 58 seconds.
Expressing regret over the loss of two medals for Sri Lanka, the coach and relatives of the two female athletes have called on the authorities to ensure justice for the young sprinters and take necessary action against those responsible for their disqualification. (Newswire)