Two Sri Lankan female athletes who had lost their opportunity to compete in the 2025 Asian Youth Athletics Championships have expressed regret over the incident, claiming that the incident had made them want to give up on the sport.

Niduki Prarthana and Ayesha Sewwandi were set to compete in the women’s U-18 1500 metre event but had failed to report on time for the first call due to the fault of the accompanying officials. 

The blunder saw the two young athletes being disqualified from the event, which they had had a chance of securing gold and silver medals for Sri Lanka.

Upon their return to Sri Lanka, the athletes expressed frustration and sadness over the incident. 

“When we inquired from the Sri Lankan officials, they said the first call was at 6.20. But it was at 6.10. When we arrived at the location, they informed us we could not participate as we had not reported for the call. This is our first tour.  We got fed up and thought we did not need to do this sport,” they said, speaking to reporters. 

Despite these mishaps, Sri Lanka was able to win 01 gold medal, 03 silver medals, and 04 bronze medals in the 2025 Asian Youth Athletics Championships held in Saudi Arabia. (Newswire)

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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)

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