Rasara Wijesuriya of the Eastern Province gained the first gold medal in athletics at the 49th National Sports Festival (NSF) track and field events recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wijesuriya, a student of the University of Kelaniya, clocked 35:32.99 to win the gold medal in the women\u2019s 10,000m. The silver medal went to HMCS Herath of the Central Province however the bronze was secured by BMN Sewwandi of the Western Province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neshara Daksitha of the Northern Province set the only new meet record on the inaugural day by clearing 3.52m in the women\u2019s pole vault, breaking her own previous NSF record of 3.51m established in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Games, with the participation of more than 1,000 athletes on behalf of all provinces, were professed open yesterday at the Galle Dadella District Sports Complex under the patronage of Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and Deputy Minister Sugath Thilakaratne. The closing ceremony will be held tomorrow under the patronage of Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The festival was ceremonially released with the traditional Olympic torch lighting by veteran badminton player Niluka Karunaratne (London Olympics 2012) and former athlete Tamara Samandipika (Sydney Olympics 2000), both from the Southern Province who represented Sri Lanka at the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2025 NSF, organized by the Ministry of Sports and the Department of Sports Development, features competitions in 33 sporting disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Results \u2013 Day One Rasara Wijesuriya of the Eastern Province gained the first gold medal in athletics at the 49th National Sports Festival (NSF) track and field events recently. Wijesuriya, a student of the University of Kelaniya, clocked 35:32.99 to win the gold medal in the women\u2019s 10,000m. The silver medal went to HMCS Herath of the Central Province…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,67],"tags":[1759,1703,73,134],"class_list":["post-9571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletic","category-national-athletics","tag-49th-national-sports-festival","tag-rasara-wijesuriya","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
Women\u2019s 10,000m<\/strong>
Gold: Rasara Wijesuriya (Eastern) \u2013 35:32.99
Silver: H.M.C.S. Herath (Central) \u2013 37:03.20
Bronze: B.M.N. Sewwandi (Western) \u2013 37:13.92
Women\u2019s Javelin Throw<\/strong>
Gold: Dilhani Lekamge (Sabaragamuwa) \u2013 55.61m
Silver: D.M.I. Hasanthi (Eastern) \u2013 52.21m
Bronze: H.P.D.H. Maduwanthi (Uva) \u2013 50.26m
Men\u2019s 5000m<\/strong>
Gold: V. Vakshan (Central) \u2013 15:00.72
Silver: I. Vikirthan (Northern) \u2013 15:02.48
Bronze: H.D.S.D. Gunasekara (Western) \u2013 15:15.09
Women\u2019s Long Jump<\/strong>
Gold: H.M.N.M. Herath (Uva) \u2013 6.09m
Silver: R.D. Sithmini (Western) \u2013 5.95m
Bronze: G.I.S. Lankathilaka (North Central) \u2013 5.69m
Women\u2019s Pole Vault<\/strong>
Gold: Neshara Daksitha (Northern) \u2013 3.52m (New Meet Record)
Silver: K.A.C.K. Kodithuwakku (Central) \u2013 3.10m
Bronze: P. Abishalini (Northern) \u2013 3.10m
400m Mixed Relay<\/strong>
Gold: Western Province
Silver: Southern Province
Bronze: North Western Province<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"