Local swimmers aiming for more SAG medals than previous instalment
Manoj Abeysinghe
Sri Lankan swimmers want to win a rich haul of medals at the this years South Asian Games (SAG) to be held in December in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The island-nation won 39 medals including 12 gold in swimming in 2016, the most number of medals in any sport for Sri Lanka during the meet, while India dominated the pool with 45 medals.
To make their dream a reality, Manoj Abeysinghe, who has been producing star class national swimmers during the past decade, has been appointed as the Head Coach of swimming for the SAG.
“I have a team-building plan for the entire squad and I am working hard to achieve better results, than what we gained in 2016,” Abeysinghe told the Sunday Times.
Following the remarkable performances during the previous SAG, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Sports paid special attention to swimming and steps were taken to facilitate the swimmers for the first time in its history.
The governing body of swimming, or Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU), has identified the highest potential for medals in swimming and facilitated 23 swimmers, providing them with a training budget and equipment while scheduling three different training camps before December.
The first coaching clinic was successfully conducted from July 25 to 31 in Diyatalawa and the second stint will be held in September while the final camp is scheduled for November.
Meanwhile, South Asia’s best freestyle swimmer Matthew Abeysinghe, who won seven gold medals at the last SAG meet, is currently undergoing high intensity training in the United States of America, while one of the finest female backstroke swimmers in the region, Kimiko Raheem, will be hoping to dominate the SAG pool in Kathmandu.
In comparison with the history of swimming in Sri Lanka, every national record has been reestablished during the last five years, as the country experienced a barren period for swimming records earlier.
For the first time in history, Sri Lanka has produced female swimmers competing at 600 FINA point level and male swimmers competing at 700 FINA point level. Some of young female swimmers have broken the 700-point barrier while a few young male swimmers have broken the 800-point barrier, which is considered a notable standard in Lankan aquatic sport.
A decade ago, Sri Lanka’s 200m Freestyle time for men was two minutes. That was established by Sri Lanka’s legendary swimmer Julian Bolling in 1991 at the then South Asian Federation Games. Now Sri Lanka have around 15 swimmers who can swim 200m Freestyle under two minutes, which shows the development of the sport during the recent past.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka swimming faces a selection debacle following the local governing body’s recent appointments. After Sri Lanka’s former Sports Minister had appointed an Interim Committee for swimming, a month ago a fresh committee was elected by votes under the incumbent Minister.
As FINA, the world governing body for aquatic sports, recognise the former appointed committee, the country will face so many debacles in selections since the Ministry wouldn’t recognise the last interim committee.
“When we are going to compete at international events, such as FINA World Championships, Olympics, South Asian Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, etc, we can’t say these are our rules. We are bound by FINA rules. The best thing that any Sports Minister can do for this country, is to establish guidelines and policies for selections, funding, governance to guide the swimmers towards one direction,” explained a concerned Head Coach Abeysinghe.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan swimmers will have a busy local and international schedule during the remaining months of the year. From August 22, the Age Group Championship will be held at the Sugathadasa Swimming Complex in Colombo as a selection trial for the Asian Age Group Championships, to be held in September in India. Apart from those two events, National Championships and the National Schools Championships, are also scheduled to be held.