“HELP OUR MEDAL WINNERS”
NOCSL to appeal to corporate giants to assist SAG medal winners
The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) is hoping to find employment for medal winning athletes at the 13th South Asian Games, with the objective of better preparing them to represent the country at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and Asian Games in Hangzhou, both in 2022.
The NOCSL President Suresh Subramanium and Secretary General Maxwell de Silva are planning to hold discussions with corporate giants in the country in this regard.
This was announced at a media conference held at the Olympic House yesterday by the NOCSL headed by
Subramanium and Executive Committee members in the presence of athletes and officials of various sports.
“Some of our athletes are currently not employed and we believe that finding employment will help them develop both professionally and also as athletes as they will be able to support themselves better,” de Silva said yesterday.
“If the NOCSL, Ministry of Sports and National Sports Associations work together we can enhance the chances of medal winning opportunities in 2022,” de Silva said.
The Sri Lankan contingent which participated in the Kathmandu was the biggest ever numbering 721.
“We succeeded in winning a total of 251 medals,” he added.
“All these achievements came despite the athletes facing many obstacles and challenges such as climate and logistic issues,” de Silva said.
The Secretary General also said they were not to blame for the problems faced by the athletes when they landed in Nepal for the South Asian Games.
“The NOCSL was only responsible for coordinating with the organizing committee and the Ministry of Sports handled the other logistical aspects related to the athletes such as air tickets and accommodation. Our athletes encountered a major health issue when some of them were diagnosed with dengue but we took the initiative to resolve it. NOCSL president Suresh Subramanium took immediate action with the help of Dr. Lal Ekanayake to control the situation,” said Maxwell de Silva.
The NOCSL Secretary General was also critical of swimmers Kimiko Raheem, Chirantha de Silva and Minoli Kalugalle for pulling out at the eleventh hour citing injury.
“We would have five more gold medals if they had participated,” he said.
De Silva also criticized some of those who travelled to the games as officials, though not having the required credentials.
“There were also at least half a dozen officials from the Ministry of Sports who were present in Nepal without having accreditation. This is a discredit to the country,” he added.