Colombo: Sri Lankan sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe has been elected to lead the country's Olympic squad to next month's Beijing Games, it was reported by the media here on Friday.
Daily Mirror said this announcement was made by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka. Susanthika will carry the Sri Lanka flag at the opening ceremony and lead a team of four women and four men to the Beijing Games starting on Aug 8. The team will leave for Beijing on Aug 5.
Sri Lanka is pinning its hopes on Jayasinghe to bring home the gold medal this time. In 2000, Susanthika became the country's first Olympic Games medallist since 1948, when she finished behind Marion Jones and Pauline Davis-Thompson in the women's 200 metres. She also won a gold medal in the 200 metres event at the World Championships in Japan last year.
