AASL to examine Sri Lanka’s dismal show
Triple jumper Vidusha Lakshani was the only medal winner for Sri Lanka
The Selection Committee of the Sri Lanka Athletics Association (SLAA) has decided to launch an investigation into the dismal performance of the Sri Lankan athletes at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar recently.
The 15-member strong (men and women) Sri Lankan contingent managed to secure just a solitary bronze medal through the efforts of Vidusha Lakshani in the Women’s triple jump event.
In addition, Nilani Ratnayake (Women’s 3,000m steeplechase), Gayanthika Abeyratne (Women’s 800m) and the Women’s 4x400m Relay Team came close to winning a medal as they were placed fourth in their respective events.
Member of the SLAA Selection Committee N.A.T. Jayasinghe revealed that they will call for a meeting with the athletes, coaches and other officials in order to look into the reason why Sri Lanka failed to make an impact at this meet.
“We selected the best athletes for this event. They performed well during the trials at home. But it is a mystery why they could not perform the same in Qatar,” Jayasinghe queried.
“We have decided to look in to this debacle in a more serious manner. We need to find out what actually went wrong and ensure it will not be repeated in the future,” he added.
Sri Lanka’s best medal prospect and South Asia’s fastest athlete Himasha Eshan who had earlier vowed to run the Men’s 100m in under 10.00 seconds, could not even make it to the final.
Meanwhile, veteran athletics coach Sunil Gunawardena believed that the current administration should take the entire responsibility for this disappointing performance.
“We do not have a proper athletics development plan. We have failed to nurture the up-and-coming athletes who have excelled at different meets,” Gunawardena emphasised.
“Athletes in the calibre of Sugath Thilakaratne, Susanthika Jayasinghe Damayanthi Darsha and Sriyani Kulawansa were able to display their prowess both at home and overseas.”
“I also see that there is a mafia among the athletic coaches in the country and we should put an end to this if we are to win medals in international meets,” he added.
Another major setback for Sri Lanka at this event was the poor performance of Nimali Liyanarachchi and Gayanthika Abeyratne who had won the Gold Medal and the Silver Medal respectively at the 2017 Asian Championships held in India.