Who asked me, is the National Olympic Committee a Travel Agency?
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They went, they saw but exactly what did they conquer?
The Commonwealth Games (CWG) just concluded, once again brought to the surface the pungent aura of a bloated contingent of 161 athletes from the different disciplines and of course the plethora of officials who make it their business to join the bandwagon. From the net results, Yupun Abeykoon earned a bronze medal on the back of sustained Italy based training, while our champion para athlete Palitha Bandara, a seasoned campaigner, took the silver. Weightlifter Dilanka Isuru picked the right class to secure a bronze, while Nethmi Ahimsa our youngest athlete, stole the thunder with a well calculated bronze medal.
Rhythmic Gymnast Anna- Marie was cold shouldered and thus Sri Lanka settled for only four medal winners, while the rest enjoyed the joy ride, one would say! The 11 defectors delivered the coup de grace with well-planned disappearing acts that left the Chef De Mission (CdM) both bemused and nonplussed to say the least.
There were appropriate noises made even before the teams embarked, with CdM stating he was ready to deal with any planned escapism, but in the end all the stratagems that the National Olympic Committee (NOC) team had in mind, came to naught!
So, the question from a puzzled sports enthusiast begs an answer; is the NOC a mere travel agency? Did they approve of entries that did not plan to spend more than a few seconds in the various arenas? Whereas, they had planned quite systematically, to exploit the privileges of fully paid travel and easy visa processes; show up at Birmingham and bolt from there? The Sports Secretary has quite rightly promised absolute accountability from all concerned including the CdM, but it behooves him to go further and examine how the NOC and the National Sports Selection Committee (NSSC) endorsed nominations from the National Federations (NF) that knew very well that competitive standards or medal prospects of their protégés, were way off the mark. But as they say, winning or losing is not what matters, but how you play the game! That is to warily exploit the much hyped Olympian Spirit and join the cavalcade knowing very well that performances would be well below par! At a time when the country is begging for dollars, was it bravery or chicanery that permitted a big contingent to take wing to Birmingham and return with four medals!
The Ministry of Sports (MOS), like most public sector agencies are monolithic repositories of inertia and an over-sized administration. In the labyrinth of moth eaten mountains of files that gather within its precincts, no clear idea takes shape of how to produce world class sportsmen and sportswomen. The short answer is that these athletes must have prolonged overseas exposure and specialized training if we are to succeed in top international meets, like the Olympic Games and Asian Games and for that matter, the CWG! So, do you need four floors of a prime real estate to do that? And what pray, is the role of the NOC other than logging in athletes for international meets without so much as ascertaining that the exercise is worth the effort? Why do they never publish a transparent criteria of nomination and selection well in advance? What is stated loud and clear is that the NFs must ensure preparation and qualification. Does this mean that the NOC task is to provide the passage and lodging? So, off you go and good luck from there! The MOS latches on and the NFs relish the opportunity to jump the bandwagon. A rigorous justification is not after all, the fundamental premise for participation it seems!
Hilarious it was indeed to see the Sports Minister himself berate his key staff about the lackadaisical attitude they demonstrated with regard to the World Junior Athletics Championships. The innocent man was shocked that a MOS official refused to turn up on a Saturday to see to arrangements of athletes gathering at the MOS with their parents to proceed to travel. That was a sad story with all focus directed on the CWG. But it was the aftermath of the Birmingham sancharaya that left Nethmi to put the icing on the cake! Ministers, Officials, Well Wishers were wrestling each other to lay claim to their part in the ordeal that took this village lass to great heights in Birmingham. Social Media was awash of the worship that one gallant girl had to pay to the powers that be for making her victory a reality! As if on que, the National Sports Council was revived and low and behold, what do they like to do, bring the Asia Cup home? That is another story! For now, let us talk a cold hard look at what the road to CWG 2022 revealed? Will the NOC tell sports lovers what they would like to know? Did the results, justify the trip, Sir?