All eyes would be on the Sugathadasa Stadium where the 10th South Asian Games’ most prestigious gold medals will be decided today.
Hosts Sri Lanka will be on full throttle to win the men’s and women’s 100m sprints and put the icing on the cake by winning their first ever football gold medal in the night.
After success in both the 200m sprints on Thursday, Susanthika Jayasinghe and Rohan Kumara Pradeep will make a bid to become the Games’ fastest woman and man respectively.
The two star athletes from Sri Lanka, however, will run in contrasting moods as Rohan was chosen by the Asian Athletics Association to represent the continent in 400m sprint and 4×400m relay for the IAAF Athletics World Cup to be held in Athens in September. The Asian selectors, however, ignored sprint queen Susantika, who regained her Games 200m crown after 11 years on Thursday night in her first international meet following a one-year injury.
If fitness permits, Bangladesh national champion Masudul Karim will compete in the men’s 100m as well as Mohon Khan. Shamsunnahar Chumki and Nazmunnahar Beauty will also enter the women’s 100m dash.
For Bangladesh 4×400m relay teams, it would just be a formality to participate as the squad do not have a genuine 400m runner in the entire squad except for 400m hurdler Afzal Hossain Surya.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, who have reached the football final in the Games for the first time after edging India in the shootout of a breathtaking semifinal, face three-time champions Pakistan in the final.
In the second semifinal late on Thursday, striker Essa Khan’s spectacular bicycle kick gave Pakistan a 2-1 extra-time victory over Nepal, who led the first half 1-0 but dug their own grave with an own goal by Anjan KC in the second half.
Pakistan have won the football title in 1989 and 2004 at home and in 1991 in Colombo.
India and Nepal clash in the bronze medal play-off earlier at the same venue.
Bangladesh will look for a few medals as they compete in men’s and women’s kabaddi bronze play-offs as well as a number of martial art events.
Toufiq Shahriar Chandan will be in action in men’s 50m air rifle three positions (3×40 shots) on the last day of shooting competition.
BANGLADESH IN TODAY’S GAMES
Athletics: (men’s) Masudul Karim, Mohon Khan (100m), 4×400m relay; (women’s) Nazmu-nnahar Beauty, Shamsunnahar Chumki (100m), 4×400m relay.
Shooting: Toufiq Shahriar Chandan (men’s 50m air rifle three positions)
Kabaddi (bronze play-off): Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (men’s) and Bangladesh v Nepal (women’s)
Volleyball: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (men’s semifinal).
Others: Archery, cycling (men’s road race), judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling.