Shirantha Peries explains why NSSF decided to opt out
Shirantha Peries
Days after deciding to pull out from the upcoming 18th Asian Games 2018 to be held in Indonesia, Shirantha Peries, the President of National Shooting Sports Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF) explained further on matters pertaining to that subject.
While the prime cause of their pullout was mainly based on the decision made by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC) to allow only one official — manager or coach — for multi-event competitions, Peries explained that there are reasons that run further beyond.
“Of course, many may come to a conclusion that the NSSF is crying foul for wrong reasons. But we have to be clear on this particular issue that we deliberately missed out a golden opportunity of a potential silver medal at the just concluded Commonwealth Games 2018. Had Suranga Fernando was accompanied by his coach things may have been different,” stated Peries.
Fernando, who represented Sri Lanka in the Men’s 50m Pistol and Men’s 10m Air Pistol events, was one of the medal hopes according to his performances in the local qualifiers for the Commonwealth Games 2018. He had shot overwhelmingly and reached the marks that would be sufficient for a silver medal weeks prior to the event at Gold Coast.
“We observed that Suranga (Fernando) stood a strong chance in reaching the final round and was in line for the silver medal in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event. He has been shooting at his best and even reached 570 points out of 600 at a recent outing, which was by far the possible range for a silver medal in the event,” Peries stated prior to the CWG 2018.
However Fernando reached the ranks of 16 in the Men’s 50m Pistol qualifiers for the final on April 11, but two days earlier he was on the fence on reaching the final round of the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event. Fernando was on par with Shakil Ahmed of Bangladesh at 563 points each and he was shown the exit based on the 10x points earnings.
“We lost by a whisker at CWG and what would happen in the final round could have been a total contrast, because it’s a fresh start to all shooters. With the available resources we sent, unlike before, the very best. They were properly vetted and sent with a simple goal. Out of the lot, Suranga was a silver medal prospect for Sri Lanka,” Peries added.
The NSSF had repeatedly requested the NOC grant permission to have Fernando’s coach sensing the possible medal in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event. But the NOC officials gave the NSSF the option of just one official for the three shooters, a manager or a coach. In the Men’s 10m Air Pistol final, the Bangladeshi shooter would better his ranks to reach overall sixth while Indian Jitu Rai, who placed fourth in the qualifiers, goes on to win the gold medal. Australian Kerry Bell, who was placed seventh in the qualifiers goes on to claim the silver medal while Om Mithraval of India, who topped the qualifiers, paced down to finish third overall with a bronze medal.
“In shooting there are transportation of firearm and ammunitions. We need an approval from the Ministry of Sports, then the Ministry of Defense, afterwards need an approval from the Civil Aviation Authority in advance. Practically it’s difficult for a coach to attend to these and to conduct training and grooming the shooters. These are complex documentations that should be perfectly followed up by a manager, who is competent to handle these procedures. The manager appointed was Pradeep Edirisinghe, the secretary of NSSF, selected anonymously by the council.
Suranga tied at eighth position to qualify for the final, in the 10x count he was placed ninth. This is when the presence of a coach is important, it could have made a simple different.”
Peries went on to say that the NSSF has learnt a valuable lesson from the outcome of the concluded CWG 2018 and would plan out comprehensively before thinking of sending its shooters for multi-event competitions, for the sake of sending. The NSSF has been struggling to cope up with its plans on placing shooting sports at a level, where it could bring glory to the country. However Peries maintains the fact that for whatever reasons, Sri Lanka and Fernando missed out on a possible chance of a medal.
“If Suranga had finished 20th or 15th, the NSSF would have simply called it a day promptly. He tied for the eighth place with a Bangladeshi shooter, who goes on to perform better in the final. He was dropped on the 10x count, and imagine what a coach could have done to him at the firing point. Anyone who knows about shooting, clearly knows that skills does matter but more importantly it’s the mental fitness. A coach is important to guide the shooter of slight differences that could seriously matter on points. The NSSF is not making statements on behalf of the other two shooters this way, we are talking about Suranga, because he had the potential for a medal and we deliberately threw that chance away.”
Peries, who is a crafty and well respected administrator in the private sector, has been attempting to make shooting a dominant sport irrespective of constant setbacks, mainly caused by third parties. To add salt to the wounds the NSSF also has been dealing with troubles in scouting for a national coach, a position that was voluntarily held by locals on short terms.
“There is a problem of national coaches, we wanted the help of international coaches. We received a budget of US$ 36,000 per annum from the Ministry of Sports, all inclusive. It’s a herculean task to find within that amount for an year. Somehow we managed to scout an international coach, who willingly came to Sri Lanka to train the shotgun shooters, who pooled out his expenses.”
Peries elaborated that Sri Lankan shooters are highly skilled and they are in need of regular coaching assistance with at least competitions happening monthly. But at present the NSSF has been compelled to deal with issues that are beyond its control, related to financial, logistic and administrative.
Due to certain restrictions, such as free access for shooters at top ranges, which are mainly controlled by the Armed Forces, the NSSF has been working with an adopted plan for some time with an easily accessible makeshift shooting range closer to Colombo. They are currently in the process of appointing permanent national coaches for pistols and rifles. But the NSSF has adopted a policy of being selective on international events, knowing they too have important areas to brush up while anticipating support of the Ministry of Sports for further action.
“Next in line is the Asian Shooting Games, where we don’t intend to send anybody. We strongly feel that we are not still up to the standard to win a medal. Shooters may go for other international events, and prove themselves and focus on the next big event, the 2020 Olympics. Unless we get a quota place, there is no sense and pride in going in as a wild card. It’s all about making the shooting a respectable and followed sport,” Peries spelled out the long term intentions of NSSF.