Sports

Sports

Good times are here again?
By S.R. Pathiravithana
Well.... it seems that the dark clouds that enveloped the sports sky is slowly moving away. As a first step in this shift, Derwin Perera's athletic faction who were on to a bitter fight against the Janaka Bandara faction denoted that they would consider working with them, subject to conditions.

Then a week later the hurdles that were put barring the Interim Committee of local cricket from entering its headquarters were lifted, enabling the most popular sport in the country to get back on its feet.

Thirdly the resignation of the cricket CEO Duleep Mendis who is a paid employee of the SLC and which sent ripples across the cricketing world was withdrawn no sooner it was sent and story came to a fairy tale end.

Does all this augur well for sport in the country? On the surface it seems so. However the undeniable fact is that there is fire still smouldering under the ashes.

On the athletic side the stay order which almost restrained the activities of athletics in the country was lifted and the AAA activities got back to normal, but still the case is going on. How long the case will last and if the incumbent hierarchy will be still there ruling the countries destiny in athletics when the final verdict is given god only knows. Even in cricket the situation is the same. But the only difference is that now every one knows who is running the show in spite of the still pending case.

The interim committee got down to business even before they entered the Mecca of Lankan cricket -- the Maitland Crescent Headquarters by sending the Sri Lankan Masters to Abu Dhabi and its head was shown on local TV with a very close confidant seated next to him.

The AAA was busy conducting the Pentathlon and the Decathlon events at the Sugathadasa Stadium over the weekend. And on Tuesday applications for the trials for athletes who are vying to take part in the World Championships in Helsinki and the Asian Championships in Korea will close. According to the secretary of the AAA Prema Pinnawela the count does not look so bad and so far they have received over 100 applications and the tally is going up. He said "In fact Sunil Gunawardena the coach of Damayanthi Dharsha and Prasanna Amerasekera spoke to me and said the two athletes are doing very well at present." And according to Pinnawela this is a turn for the better in the scene as Sunil Gunawardena comes from the opposite camp.

Clarifying the AAA position further the secretary said "First there was a restraining order against the president minister Janaka Bandara Tennekone, but we the rest of the elected body carried on. In the subsequent hearing the order was lifted by the court and the President also came back into the fold. However the next hearing is scheduled for June 9".

Prema Pinnawela further said "We will have the Junior Nationals on 8,9 and 10 July. We are hoping to put a lot of stress on this meet because we want to lay a lot of emphasis on young talent. At this meet we will pick some one to represent us in the World Youth Championships in Morocco which will be held from 13-16 the same month in Morocco. At the same time the IAAF has indicated that we name two athletes who achieve grade "B" rankings in line for the next Olympics in 2008. For this we already have ear marked Anuradha Cooray and Prasanna Amerasekera". This goes to depict the two leading sports in this country which were almost coming to a grinding halt two weeks ago are back on field and track again and the wheels are slowly setting in motion.

What does the country want most now? Everything in disarray with factional fighting or smooth functioning of a given entity with all involved in the mechanism working amicably and working towards one common goal?

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