Teenager Tharushi Karunarathna, Sri Lanka's only gold medallist so far at the Hangzhou Asian Games, received a congratulatory telephone call from the country's president and cash from the cricket board.

After the 18-year-old won the women's 800m on Wednesday in Hangzhou, President Ranil Wickremesinghe telephoned the runner to convey the nation's gratitude.

"President Wickremesinghe expressed the pride felt by the nation for her extraordinary success on the international stage and conveyed his best wishes for her future endeavours in sports," his office said in a statement.

Sri Lanka's cricket board, the richest sporting body in the country, said it was gifting her 10 million rupees ($31,000). 

Karunarathna's gold was Sri Lanka's first in athletics at the Asian Games since 2002, when they won two.

aj/pst