Two young Sri Lankan athletes have been disqualified from their sprint events at the 2025 Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Saudi Arabia for failing to arrive on time for the event.

According to one of the athletes’ coaches, the two sprinters were scheduled to report for the women’s Under-18 1500m event 35 minutes before the start, but the accompanying officials failed to report on time.

“The event was held at 6.40. The athletes who were supposed to report at 6.10 for the first call were brought to the event at 6.20. Therefore, they were disqualified. A manager, three coaches and a female official came with the Sri Lankan team. This disqualification has been due to their lack of care. They should take care of all the athletes, not just their students,” he added.

Pointing out that both Sri Lankan athletes, Niduki Prithara and Ayesha Sewwandi, had clocked 4 minutes 41 seconds and 4 minutes 43 seconds, the coach said that the Chinese athlete who clocked 4 minutes 58 seconds and won the event could have easily beaten them.

Expressing regret over the loss of two medals to Sri Lanka, the coach and relatives of the two athletes have urged the authorities to ensure justice for the young sprinters and take necessary action against those responsible for their disqualification.