(AthleticStatisticsRecorderandDirectorSportsUniversityofKelaniya)

Idon't think the all the Sports in the country has been affected, as there are a few Sports which have moved forward on the international stage. However, I agree we have taken a back seat in the number of medals and championships we have won in the recent past. I think the main reason for this is because countries such as India, Japan, South Korea and China have made giant strides in their respective Sports programmes. In addition, the rise of the Middle East countries in Sports, has also pushed Sri Lanka down. These countries, of course, have reached the top through the import of players from other top sporting nations. This was clearl during the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea, where Sri Lanka were robbed of a Bronze medal when Chandrika Subashini was pushed into 4th place by a Bahraini Athlete who was an import from Nigeria.

Furthermore, we do not have efficient training programmes. Although we won Athletic medals at international events in the past, today, we do not see any rural Athletes coming into the limelight. It is the PTI and the Sports Officer who, initially, should be able to identify talented athletes at school level. Athletes of the calibre of Damayanthi Darsha, Sugath Thilakaratne, Sriyani Kulawansa and Susanthika Jayasinghe all came into recognition after they were identified by their respective PTIs and Sports Officers of their village. Today, we do not see this taking place and instead, PTIs and Sports Officers conduct their own coaching and over-train the Athletes to gain quick results. As a result, even before the Athletes are given the opportunity to perform at National level, they have become injury prone. Today, these PTIs and the provincial coaches have decided to retain these Athletes, for personal gains and credit from the authorities.

Sometime back, we had only a few Athletic coaches in the country. Sri Lanka fielded a 31-member contingent for the 1986 Asian Games in South Korea with only 5 Coaches in the squad. In 2006, Sri Lanka fielded 48 Athletes for the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, with as many as 41 Coaches in the squad, of which 26 were unqualified.

Another reason for the decline of Sports in the country was the introduction of Provincial units in 1987, which further widened the gap between the Education Ministry, Sports Ministry and the Provincial Council, while cutting all contacts within their organisations. As a result, the entire Sports network broke down and we never had an outstanding Athlete coming forward since then. We also do not have any monitoring system within these organisations. The Sports Ministry does not have a National plan to take Sports forward and to the next level.

Though Sri Lanka fielded 104 Athletes for 24 events at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, at a cost of nearly Rs 10 billion, we did not win a single medal. After the Games, the authorities appointed a committee to look into Sri Lanka’s debacle at this event. There were constructive recommendations revealed to the authorities from this Report but, this report too, with time, became a mere document. This is an ' occupational hazard' among the authorities which perpetuates the repetition of mistakes.