Sports Ministry to cut down Commonwealth Games athlete contingent

Monday, 5 February 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Leonard Ratnayake

The Ministry of Sports is reportedly prepared to rule out more than half of the athletes who had been previously picked to represent Sri Lanka at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia in April this year.

The five-member committee appointed by Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera had recommended dropping 49 sportsmen representing badminton, gymnastics, shooting, table tennis and football from the contingent for the Games. Earlier it was announced by the Ministry of Sports that a total of 82 athletes from 13 sports would represent Sri Lanka at the Gold Coast Games. Sri Lanka will now probably field athletes for the Games in athletics, weightlifting, boxing, swimming, beach volleyball, Mallawapora, squash and rugby.

It is learnt that the five-member committee had based its recommendations on how Sri Lankan players were likely to fare at the Games. They are of the view that the athletes ruled out had a very slim chance of success at the Commonwealth Games.

However, Sri Lanka has consistently done well in sports like shooting, badminton and table tennis at the international level in the past. Badminton and table tennis have always been sports that Sri Lanka has shown potential in. Gymnastics is also a sport that many countries give priority to developing. After a setback of two decades, football too is picking up as an international sport in Sri Lanka.

In the past, the sport of shooting has secured one gold and two silvers at the Commonwealth Games for Sri Lanka, lying only behind weightlifting, which has earned a bronze medal in addition to its tally. Boxing too has the same amount of medals under its belt at the Games. Sri Lanka in total has won only 13 medals so far in the Games’ history with athletics being the other medal-winning sport.

Nevertheless, if the Ministry of Sports is going to abide by the recommendations of the committee, it is argued that the Minister of Sports himself is killing the enthusiasm of sportsmen and women rather than providing incentives for them and many others to follow sports.

“If the Minister wants to cut down on the contingent that was earlier announced to be 149 members including officials, he should have done so by trimming the number of officials and not the athletes,” a sports enthusiast said.

He added that it was the duty of the Sports Minister to provide funds through sponsors or through the Government for the participation of all athletes who had qualified by achieving the required standards.

The Commonwealth Games offers an opportunity for every Sri Lankan sportsman to measure their standards at the international level and hone their skills, techniques and strategies while competing against their international counterparts and thus gaining experience. It also encourages many local athletes to continue pursuing sports and training to become champions.

Sri Lanka attended its first Commonwealth Games in 1938 in Sydney and took home a boxing gold medal. The country has participated in the Games since 1990 and continues to be an important member of the Games’ family.

At the 2006 Games in Melbourne, Chintana Vithanage claimed gold in the men’s 62 kg weightlifting class with a Games record, a unique feat in Sri Lanka’s history. At the 2010 Games in Delhi, Sri Lanka took part in 16 of the 17 sports. (Source www.srilankasports.com)