Athletics: SLA await green light from Kazakhstan as last resort for Olympic qualification

With the hopes of Sri Lanka track and field athletes fading gradually to reach the qualification standards of Tokyo Olympics 2020, Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) has requested its international counterparts in Kazakhstan to allow the country's elite athletes to take part in the Kazakhstan International Open Athletic Championship, which is to be held on June 19 and 20.

The move comes as a final attempt to pave the way to Sri Lankan athletes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8 in Japan. 

If Kazakhstan provides the green light, SLA had already made arrangements to send six of Sri Lanka's most elite track and field athletes, who are on the brink of reaching the minimum qualifying standards for the multisport gala event in Tokyo.

However, Sri Lanka's hopes are somewhat overshadowed by international travel restrictions imposed by different countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sri Lanka is currently one of the countries among certain international and Asian airports that have included in their banned list due to the country's soaring number of COVID-19 cases. 

This development has hampered SLA's attempt in sending six of its athletes who are in the near qualification standards for the Tokyo games.

Under such conditions SLA's final shot in sending track and field athletes Nimali Liyanaarachchi, Dilshi Kumarasinghe, Kalinga Kumarage, Sumedha Ranasinghe, Nadeesha Ramanayake and Yupun Abeykoon to earn possible qualifications for the Tokyo Olympics may hamper in an adverse manner.

Female athletes Liyanaarachchi and Kumarasinghe are vying hopes in earning Sri Lanka slots in the Women's 800m event, while Kumarage and Ramanayake has done exceptionally in the Men's 400m and Women's 400m events in the recent times. 

Ranasinghe is a javelin thrower who had improved his performance in the recent times.

Abeykoon, who is currently based in Italy recorded improved timings in the Men's 100m event, while renewing the Sri Lanka record clocking 10.15 seconds on May 13. 

He clocked 10.09 seconds on May 21 at the Anhalt 2021, which is considered the fastest timing recorded in Men's 100m by a Sri Lankan but the timing remains as 'not ratified' as the sprint is said to have had wind assistance of +2.2ms, according to Sri Lanka athletic officials. 

The qualification timing for the Men's 100m for Tokyo Olympics is 10.05 seconds.

In addition SLA had included Ushan Thiwanka Perera, who renewed the Sri Lanka record in Men's High Jump with a leap of 2.30m, but the USA based athlete has announced his inability to join the team in Kazakhstan due to reasons better known to him. 

However sprinter Abeykoon had committed himself to take part in next week's event if Sri Lanka receives the green light from the Kazakhstan officials.

If matters unfold as SLA anticipates, this will be the first occasion Sri Lanka will team up for an international meet since their representation at the South Asian Games held in Kathmandu, Nepal in December 2019. 

So far none of Sri Lankan track and field athletes have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.

However even if Sri Lankan athletes fail to earn qualification Nilani Ratnayake is likely to earn a wild card entry for the 3000m Steeplechase event, in which 32 each athletes have been listed according to global rankings for the Tokyo games. 

With International Olympic Committee's (IOC) new quota guidelines Ratnayake has a strong possibility to earn a wild card slot as she is ranked among the 32 athletes globally in the Women's 300m Steeplechase. 

Ratnayake clocked 9 minutes and 53.96 seconds in her main event at the 99th National Athletics Championship held on May 21 at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

Last week Sri Lanka’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) stated that it would send a 'strong' contingent of eight athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

The NOC's list confirmed equestrian Mathilda Karlsson, gymnast Milka Gehani de Silva and shooter Tehani Egodawela as participants but the remaining five slots were not named. 

Shuttler Niluka Karunaratne earned his third Olympic entry earlier this week. 

The NOC confirmed that the remaining slots may likely be filled by two swimmers, with the remaining slots to be filled by either by judo, wrestling or weightlifting. 

NOC, in its statement, confirmed that the maximum number of participants would be 15, including athletes, their coaches, managers, masseurs and administration officials, without a single slot even through wild cards for track and field athletes.