Sports Ministry to take stern action against defectors at CWG
The Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Amal Harsha de Silva, revealed to the Sunday Times that stern action will be taken against the nine athletes and the manager who decamped from the Sri Lankan contingent at the Commonwealth Games 2022 which ended in Birmingham, England earlier this week.
At the end end of their CWG 2022 campaign Sri Lanka had won four medals but the achievement was overshadowed by 11 decamping
Dr. de Silva lashed out on those who brought ‘disrepute’ to the country’s reputation and ‘devalued’ the country’s image, its hard earned respect in the field of sports and more importantly the passport, where airport immigration officials in other countries now look in a more suspecting manner when a Sri Lankan passport is produced, he outlined.
“This is a totally unacceptable act. If an athlete or an official represents Sri Lanka at any overseas sporting event, that person has the responsibility of protecting the country’s image. If all those went as a contingent, should return as a contingent,” he firmly asserted.
A total of 11 individuals, beginning from a week to the end towards the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, disappeared from the contingent from time to time.
Wrestler Shanith Chathuranga, judoka Chamila Dilani and judo official Duminda Asela de Silva went missing on August 2, and soon afterwards the Sri Lanka team management made an official complaint to the West Midlands police in Birmingham on the disappearance of three of its members from the contingent.
Following, the team management acquired passports and valuables of all the remaining members of the respective teams. Despite that boxer Vittalis Niklas looted out of the camp on August 5, but without any valid documents in possession. Few days later, on August 7 and 8 wrestlers Shriyanthika Niroshani and Suresh Fernando, boxers Vimukthi Kumara and Sanjeewa Bandara Rajakaruna and beach volleyball players Malintha Yapa and Ashen Rashmika went missing from the camp despite the management claiming that they have made all appropriate measures to prevent its members from decamping.
Adding salt to the wound, the official photographer of the National Olympic Committee, Kandula Yatawara, had gone missing hours before the remaining Sri Lankan contingent was supposed to make their return from Birmingham.
Dr Amal Harsha de Silva
“Stern action will be taken on all those who decamped the official contingent. We have made all necessary action against all of them. The England police and the Sri Lankan Embassy in England have been duly notified with all comprehensive details of all those who disappeared,” Dr. de Silva said.
All 161 athletes, coaching staff and officials were granted standard 180-day visas by the British government for the Commonwealth Games 2022. An official of the Birmingham Metropolitan Police had told the Sri Lankan team management that necessary action would be taken after the visa expires in six months.
Dr. de Silva revealed that Sri Lanka is making a request at diplomatic level to expedite the tracing of all who vanished from the contingent, so that stern and swift action can be taken to prevent similar activities from taking place in the future.
“Yes, they may have a valid visa for six months. But we have requested the British authorities to assist us in locating them on behalf of us, and deport to Sri Lanka. After they land here, we will take action according to the law of the country and reprimand them for bringing disrepute to the country while on national duty,” he elaborated.
“They will surely enter the blacklist in England, and they will not be allowed to enter the country again. Back here, they will be treated similarly, so that they will not be able to bring disrepute to the country in any manner in the future.”
Sri Lanka’s National Olympic Committee, months prior to the Commonwealth Games, confirmed that they would assign two officials designated by the Ministry of Sports, solely to stand in as caretakers or observers, preventing athletes from potentially looting out of the contingent and becoming runaways or illegal immigrants. Yet, Sri Lanka signed off from the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a total of 11 disappearances. Dr. de Silva further revealed that all those responsible in the contingent, including the managers of the sports discipline that reported athletes and officials disappearing, and even the Chef De Mission, namely Retired Major General Dampath Fernando, will be held accountable for what took place.
“There will be no exception to any individual this time. Law should be equal to all – those who committed, those who encouraged, if there are any, those who failed to understand the gravity of their responsibility and those who mistook democracy to ‘demo-crazy’, all in all bringing the country into shame,” whiplashed Dr. de Silva.
The Sri Lankan team officials were well aware that chances of athletes and officials running away during the multi-sport event was obvious, with the country’s deteriorated economy and living standards. Dr. de Silva pointed out that, despite economic constrains, as a country Sri Lanka has managed to address the issues with the collaboration of its National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports in sending the full team, all expenses paid, also through the huge funds and recessions received from the Commonwealth Games Secretariat.
“But these few self-centred individuals failed to justify the effort the country made in sending them to represent their motherland at a very important sporting event. This act, has only devalued our passport further, in addition to bringing injustice to other fellow athletes and officials who were well disciplined in holding Sri Lanka’s flag high with honour. We may not have been more serious than now, to correct his mistake for good and prevent it from happening in the future,” he firmly said.