Sports

Sports

Take a cue from cricket
By S.R. Pathiravithana
Sequel to our ‘musings’ two weeks ago more sordid news keep on pouring in about the misdeeds of our athletes and the lackadaisical approach taken by people at higher plains to bring them to book.

Some of these stories have already come to light and some may have not. But, the million dollar question is what action has been taken to arrest situations of this nature? As much as we know so far as we know nothing of what has been done and even when someone had tried to take action according to the grape wine they have been nullified by people of authority down the line.

The stories are many but the people who are bold enough to come out and speak out are few and far between. Only one person had the guts to come and speak to us but he too preferred to remain anonymous to the public. His question also remains unanswered. He poses a few incidents – The shoplifting and misdemeanor with a security lady which landed three of our leading athletes which ultimately landed them in a Canadian police cell was taken up seriously upon their arrival and subsequently ended up in a year’s suspension of the three athletes involved. But unofficial pressure from persons of authority saw them off the hook in only three months. Then another athlete harassed a lady doctor in Faisalabad, Pakistan while taking part at the SAF games. NOC conducted an inquiry, but pressure brought upon them saw the file being closed without action.

Then a high official of the AAA was manhandled in Paris by two athletes over an incident regarding a mere pair of spikes. The case was, however, swept under the carpet.

The official who came up with the complaint quips that a part of the blame should go to the respective coaches too. He states about an incident where a prominent coach was having a clandestine affair with a female athlete which was no secret in athletic circles. Then another incident where a coach joined a group of athletes to take fraudulent telephone calls from Paris to Sri Lanka just for the sake of a free call. Then back home the coaches get athletes to go on demonstrations for their narrow gains.

He asks then how can a coach guide the athletes to run on the right track off the field. Besides this when action is taken and persons of authority come to their rescue for the sake of a few medals the athletes turn around and sneer at the officials who tried booking them. He states the best in these circumstances is to do as the Romans do.

Indeed it’s a predicament. The game needs the performers and the performers need the sport. But, to be fully effective you need a lot of discipline and self restraint. But, are we doing just that? Unfortunately it is not so. Fortunately on the other hand Sri Lanka’s other popular sport – cricket seems to be running on the right track at present. The slightest slip by a cricketer at the top level is brought to light and action is taken according to the prevailing laws.

The latest incident is the action that is taken regarding fast bowler Ruchira Perera. There is no argument about the talent that he possesses. But, on and off the field he had problems regarding his discipline. The SLC promptly took action and suspended him from the game for an unspecified period which also cost him the contract with the national pool. Now he has the time to sit back and re-track his paces. As a result of the action taken against this individual the game may suffer a little, but the end result will be that the game will be richer. Certainly the others can take a cue from cricket!

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