The Sri Lanka tour party for the 11th SAF Games which is scheduled to begin in Dhaka on January 29 may exceed the 500 mark.
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| NOC chief Hemasiri Fernando has a handful right now |
According to a NOC official by Friday January 22, the contingent had reached 489 persons but the count was going up. They say a primary reason for this is the Presidential Elections which is just around the corner and Government Ministers and other influential officers are not in a position to turn down the requests of tour hopefuls. Among the prospective tourists there are provincial coaches and instructors looking out for this free ride.
At present there are 90 athletes included in the official list of 373 people. In this the two Ministers of Sports, their Secretaries, Directors and another host of officials from the Sports Ministry are also included, which means there are over 100 people who are not directly involved with the Games included in the list of 373. The number mentioned above is the list that was added on later.
Though SriLankan Airlines flight is already chartered for the contingent, they say there will be two flights taking place – one on the 28th of January and the other on the 4th of February. These two flights will be shuttling the athletes to and fro, depending on their events. The Treasury allocation for this trip is nearly 150 million rupees and the air tickets and the food and lodging will take the lion’s share of this expenditure.
The cricketers who are taking part in the SAF T/20 Tournament have already left to India.
The SAG Games contingent:
Archery 10 (4 men, 4 women, 2 officials); Athletics 46 (26 men, 12 women, 8 officials); Badminton 14 (6 men, 6 women, 2 officials); Basketball 14 (12 men, 2 officials); Boxing 9 (6 men, 3 officials); Cricket 18 (14 men, 4 officials); Cycling 13 (5 men, 5 women, 3 officials); Football 44 (19 men, 19 women, 6 officials); Golf 5 (4 men, 1 official); Handball 18 (14 men, 4 officials); Hockey 21 (18 men, 3 officials); Judo 10 (5 men, 2 women, 3 officials); Kabaddi 24 (10 men, 10 women, 4 officials); Karate 12 (6 men, 4 women, 2 officials); Shooting 19 (8 men, 8 women, 3 officials); Squash 5 (4 men, 1 official); Swimming 19 (8 men,7 women, 4 officials); Table Tennis 12 (5 men, 5 women, 2 officials); Taekwondo 12 (6 men, 4 women, 2 officials); Volleyball 16 (12 men, 4 officials); Weightlifting 9 (5 men, 3 officials); Wushu 13 (8 men, 4 women, 3 officials). |
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