Local Sepaktakraw on reverse gear
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Sepaktakraw is on the backfoot at present
It has been brought to the attention of the media by many activists and current Sepaktakraw players that the present administrators of the Amateur Sepaktakraw Association of Sri Lanka who were elected in February this year unashamedly discarding the selection criteria of players vying for places in the national team for foreign tours. This policy, set by the former administrators on the advice of the sports ministry, to be 36 years of age as the upper-limit, and at a hastily arranged ‘an eye-wash’ of a ‘trials’ players as old as 57 years, and three players on the verge of 50 years have been called for trials and selected for a so-called national-pool for the final selection to be made soon for the team to participate in a Sepaktakraw competition in Nepal from June 21 to 24 of June, 2018.
This move was mooted by the President elect Charindra Silva as a favour to the older players for consenting to support him, and imagine in a competition where youthful players are participating from other countries and amidst them players as old as their fathers and grandfathers playing, it will be hilarious and a disgrace to Sri Lanka leave along winning or losing. It will also discourage our youth from future participation or continuing Sepaktakraw if their places are taken by individuals older than their fathers.
Sepaktakraw does not mean kicking or heading the ball across the net, since the game is dynamic and acrobatic in nature where the players are constantly airborne either in attack or in defence. It is very obvious to all and sundry that the older players’ physical structure and ability does not permit them to be agile, speedy and to be airborne to execute or block kicks. This kind of action by the Administrators not only show their inexperience and immaturity, but also the callous disregard to accepted sport norm of encouraging the youth to be selected and given exposure at international level in order to gain experience and serve Sri Lanka for a longer period than the “ older players “ currently embraced for personal affliction by the Sepaktakraw Association which will be a record for Sri Lanka Sports as having the most advanced aged Players being selected.
Then there is a another record being established by selecting an Individual as the National Coach with no proven record of coaching, and to cap it all the Coach had got his son with mediocre skills to be selected for the National Pool in breach of Sports Ministry law ensuing a serious Conflict of Interest issue. All these unsporty and uncultured things are done to deceive the Minister of Sports and somehow go on tours with the connivance of the President of the Association who is displaying his immaturity .
All these high-handed acts by design or through ignorance demands severe action by the Sports Minister, not only for Breach of Rules and Regulations but also for the attempt to hoodwink and deceive the Sports Ministry to somehow embark on foreign tours.
Over to the Sports Minister for stern action to ban the Association from Foreign Tours, and punish the present Administrators for attempting to deceive the Ministry deliberately by holding a mock trials which was not attended by many as very short notice had been given and all schools and a few clubs being not invited at all.