Lanka wins bid to host third Asian Youth Games in 2017 in Hambantota

By Cassandra Mascarenhas

Sri Lanka has won the bid to host the third Asian Youth Games in 2017 the President of the Asian Olympic Council and the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees Sheikh Ahmed Al-Sabah announced yesterday.

Asian Olympic Council President National Olympic Committees Sheikh Ahmed Al-Sabah (centre) addresses the media in Colombo yesterday. Others from left are  MP Namal Rajapaksa, Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage, National Olympic Committee President Hemasiri Fernando and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa – Pic by Upul Abayasekara

He said Hambantota has been chosen as the venue for what will be the biggest sporting event hosted by the country. Beating out five other bidders - Thailand, Indonesia, Dubai, Qatar and Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka will see around 5,000 athletes and sports officials entering the country for the games. The National Olympic Committee assisted by the Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau presented Sri Lanka’s proposal in Kuwait earlier this month to the Sheikh.

A commemorative stamp was also issued to honour the memorable occasion and the visit of the Sheikh with the Postmaster General performing the official issuing and cancellation of the stamp in the presence of the delegation.

On his first visit to Sri Lanka, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Sabah revealed that it was also his first visit to a country to meet a national Olympic committee as the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees, which was a recent appointment.

“There is great potential and support from all the leaders about the future of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is very popular around the world and I was very surprised to see the security and stability within the country. It is obvious to anyone that the country has the best environment for athletes and for any event or competition to be hosted,” he expressed positively.

“When we started to receive bids, we were very happy to listen to the report from Sri Lanka and seeing the sincerity of the leader of the country, I can guarantee that Sri Lanka will host the Asian Youth Games if Sri Lanka is willing to host it!”

He added that the committee was very keen to see that the games would be successful and noted that after witnessing the progress and development, security and stability and the strong support from the leaders of the country, he was assured of success.

“Sports and tourism go together in any part of the world and any country looking to boost tourism uses sports as an enabler. Tourism has been identified as an economic enabler for the country and sports and adventure has been identified as one of the areas that need to be promoted. We believe that hosting such a prestigious event will further this cause,” said Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa.

Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage stated that this was a significant and valuable development for all stakeholders of sport in Sri Lanka and reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to promoting Sri Lanka as a sporting destination. He added that to this end, the Ministry has undertaken the upgrading of sports facilities and creating new ones across the island

“Hambantota, the second capital of the country, is a rising sports city and we are looking forward to host major events in the city of Hambantota and therefore the Sheikh’s visit is a timely one,” stated National Olympic Committee President Hemasiri Fernando, adding that there was a lot of work to be done.

“We want to make this the best-ever Asian Youth Games. We will start immediately which would not only include infrastructure from roads to venues but also a vast spectrum of activities such as development programmes for youth, volunteers, officials and referees.”

The Asian Youth Games, an international multi-sport event is held every four years to complement the Asian Games. The first games were hosted by Singapore in 2009 and will be held in Nanjing in 2013.

The Asian Youth Games with have 12 sports disciplines including athletics and swimming. The Government through the Ministry of Sports, Department of Sports and Ministry of Education together with the NOC will develop a youth sports development programme and other associated developmental work such as skills and technical development for officials, referees and coaches.