Deteriorating athletic standards a serious matter
View(s):The deteriorating standards of athletics in Sri Lanka, which has caused a serious medal drought at international level is a concerning factor and a long standing setback yet to be addressed by the correct people. Who, what and where does the remedy for this debacle can be found is the biggest question that needs to be answered at the moment. Here are some of the views from former experts and present day officials and athletes.
A.S.M. Khan (Former national athlete)
The most important thing we need to improve the standards of Athletics in Sri Lanka is training and not just any sort of training but professional specific training where the individuals are put through the three periods of stamina building, muscle building and then speed training. We must try to cater to every sort of athlete and give them the right exposure needed for them to succeed. Coaches are important in shaping an athletes’ life thus its wrong when they take government officials to train them instead of actual experts who have a wealth of experience in this field .Too many talented youth is wasted and not nurtured correctly .
S.L.B. Rosa (Former athlete)
Back in the days when I used to run marathons, my timings then was 2 hours 48 minutes and I used to become the 11th in the world. But nowadays that is not enough thus the athletes should really be keen and follow through on proper workouts that will improve their timing. Coaches are needed but experienced ones. Even some coaches don’t allow the experts to give their opinions to their athletes; I don’t want to mention any names.
D.H.L Perera (Member of National Sports Council)
We should not only produce muscular bodies but we need to instill more passion and values in our young athletes because these will take them far.
Maxwell De Silva (Member of National Olympic Committee)
What Sri Lanka athletics needs is a solid plan and to actually follow through on this plan. But what I think the most important thing is passion. Because passion is what drives an athlete to great heights, without passion we have nothing and cannot reach anywhere.
Yamuni Dulanjali (Winner of the best female athlete 2015)
I agree with Roshan Dhammika, we need to have targets and train towards them and not just train right before a tournament but much before.
Tornado Jayasundara (Secretary of AASL)
I have full assurance from the Sports Ministry to develop from district level. We hope to clinch the gold and silver medals at the SAG games in the Under-14 and Under-16 categories. All these children perform well up to school level and after that they drop because frankly there is no economic incentive and only the forces like Army and Navy are able to give these athletes an economic incentive.
Gregory de Silva (Former national athlete)
To improve athletics in Sri Lanka we need to hand over the responsibility to the right officers who can actually carry out the tasks and make sure they achieve them instead of the officials enjoying their salary and free trips. We should improve from district level.
M.K.A. Anoma Ratnayake (Lecturer of Sports
Management at a local university)
In the current context we must consider bettering their performance but instilling values, in other top countries they don’t only focus on performance but an all round enrichment. Also in these countries have a stable system that helps things run smoothly independent to the government. Furthermore we should invest more time into long term plans without spending our time on these short term plans. The youth needs to be concentrated on.
Roshan Dhammika (Winner of the best male athlete 2015)
In my humble opinion I think the responsible council should choose a pool of talented young athletes and work towards a target. Training should be done separately and Sri Lanka can really see results in the future.
Prasanna Dissanayake (Coach for Mahanama College)
We need some international influence to help our youngsters to reach their true potential. The pay they get is much less compared to, say if they were to play club cricket. So there isn’t much motivation there.