Dejected sprinter, aiming to be next generation's torchbearer
At the age of 29, with plenty of life left as an athlete, sprinter Shehan Ambeypitiya threw the towel after competing at the National Athletic Trials at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo two months ago. But the one-time fastest man in South Asia, is unwilling to end his journey in athletics, with aspirations to join the administration of the sport, after being forced to go through hard times as a sportsman.
Unlike cricket, which is the only professional sport in Sri Lanka, or rugby and volleyball, wh i ch f o l l ows a semi-professional structure, athletics is a veiled down sport, with less attraction. In the early 1990s and up to next decade, athletics in Sri Lanka enjoyed greater status with a structured plan, particularly due to a long term structure laid by the then Minister of Sports, S.B. Dissanayake.
Sri Lankan athletes had all the comfort, that motivated them to win medals at regional and international stage, which culminated with an Olympic silver medal t h ro u g h sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe, in the Women's 200m at the Sydney Olympics. Since then potential athletes have faded away, f aster than they emerged, and Ambepitiya, who felt the insecurity as an individual, changed his focus to build up his life.
"I'm 29 now, and I strongly feel I had two good years as an athlete. Again I thought deeply, if I could commit those two years on my profession, I could achieve something there, than committing my time and energy on something that I do not enjoy anymore," a dejected Ambeypitiya told the Sunday Times.
Couple of days after his announcement of the retirement , the sprinter again was featured in the local newspapers, after making a statement of his intentions to contest for the General Secretary's position at the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka ( AASL). Ambeypitiya has not focused his sights on becoming a coach, as he feels that 'internal politics' among coaches does not create a good environment to be around and there are better ways to contribute, to make the lives of the track and field athletes more promising and comfortable.
"I like to make use of my knowledge as a Sales and Marketing person to develop athletics, by coming into administration. I strongly feel that athletics and athletes have not been properly marketed and utilised for the development of the sport. I intend to invest my ability to develop the athletes and the sport by contributing the way I could," Ambeypitiya stressed.
Coming into the limelight as a budding sprinter from Presidents College, Kotte, Ambeypitiya earned a full scholarship to Gateway International College, after veteran coach Sunil Gunawardena decided to take the young athlete under his wings. Ambeypitiya was also coached by Nalin Tharaka and Vimukthi de Soyza, but it was Sunil Gunawardena, who was highly influential for his successes as a top athlete.
"I had the security from Sunil 'Sir', who helped me get a scholarship to Gateway. He also guided me along the way right through to the top, mentoring me what to do and what not to. He is one of key figures why I'm here as a recognised athlete today. I was lucky to come under his wings and just imagine the fate of those who who don't have that privileged to get a supporting hand," he added.
Ambeypitiya represented Sri Lanka at t he Wo rld Ju n i o r A t h l e t i c s Championships, Commonwealth Youth Games and Asian Junior Athletics Championships in 2008, World Athletics Championship in 2009, Commonwealth Games and South Asian Games in 2010. He won three gold medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games with three new games records, and also became the first ever Sri Lankan to be a finalist in a World Junior Athletics Championships in 2008.
He earned the status as the fastest man in South Asia after winning the gold medal in the Men's 100m in the South Asian Games in 2010, after which time he was based in Jamaica, among the best sprinters from 2010 to 2012 under coach Glean Mills, the trainer of the world's fastest man Usain Bolt and world champion Yohan Blake. But Ambeypitiya couldn't reach the Olympics, despite coming across three events during his athletic career.
"I also became sixth fastest sprinter in Asia. I did try to reach the Olympics standards, and trained in Jamaica with that ambition. I was almost there. I used to hit 10.31 seconds and had to reach 10.29 seconds to qualify for Olympic standards. But I suffered a hamstring injury and had to miss one of the best opportunities. There were possibly three Olympics that I could have made it to. But even the Jamaican training was too hard for us, Sri Lankans. Their training methods are far superior than ours. It was too brutal for us. That's the secret in Jamaica's success in world athletics. But we could reach that standard if we have a comprehensive programme from bottom to top in Sri Lanka. That's what I want to achieve right now," he emphasised.
But in Sri Lanka Ambeypitiya was one among many athletes who were unhappy, with the background, pride and status of athletics in the country fading away day after day. One such recent incident that struck his mind hard was of a fellow sprinter, one of his former 4x100m relay team comrades, who even went on to represent Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games, faced a sudden fall in life after an injury.
"I'm sure every athlete has his or her own sad tale. There was a highly talented sprinter in the national pool, attached to a military institution. He had represented the country at Asian Junior Championship and even Commonwealth Games with me. Suddenly he suffered an injury and had to sit out for some time. Later he was disowned by the military institution, following his injury and inactiveness as an athlete. He literally had no support to rehabilitate from his injuries. The poor chap devoted his whole time to athletics and could not even finish the basic education. Eventually he ended up as a security guard at a private establishment. That was a shocker to all of us, and it hit me very hard. I thought then that I should pursue my higher studies and create my career path as well."
While engaging in track events as a sprinter Ambeypitiya had aptly followed his higher studies in Business and Marketing at American National College through a full scholarship. He earned his bachelor degree and completed his masters degree from the Northampton University, which eventually secured him a steady income as a Senior Account Executive, Sales and Marketing at a leading private establishment in Colombo.
In addition he was offered the Honorary Assistant Secretary post of the Colombo District Athletic Association, where he directly contributes into administrative matters, while learning the task from administrator Nimalasiri. With two more years pending for the next AASL elections, Ambeypitiya will experience more and decide if he is fit enough to contest and contribute to athletics.
His ambition of becoming the next General Secretary of AASL, is purely based on developing the sport, its athletes and pave a way where all would feel secure. With a ratio of 60 percent at South Asian level, and 100 percent at Asian and Olympic level in terms of medal success, Ambeypitiya clearly stated that athletics is the next triumphant sport next to cricket in Sri Lanka. But the fact that it faced a drastic downfall in the recent times, he feels that the time has come to 'initiate something to put things on the right path'.
Coming from a family where all his male cousins and relative are cricketers, Ambeypitiya was the only black sheep who took up athletics. But by this time he has navigated himself onto the correct path in life, as an experienced and recognised athlete and an ambitious individual, who is willing to walk the extra mile without a return, for the sake of the love of the sport.
He strongly advocates on the fact that the Ministries of Education and Sports should have a common and strong policy and programme to develop skilled sportspersons, disregard of the sports discipline they are engaged in. In addition he is of the view that a strong national policy should be implemented for athletics in Sri Lanka, where there is a long term plan, from bottom to top in age categories. Moreover, after experiencing bitter situations as an outsider Ambeypitiya hopes that he anticipates a day in the near future where the Ministry of Sports, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka and the AASL work in cohesion, to put Sri Lanka athletics back on the world map.
"Most may not know that Kumar Dharmasena is my first cousin. There are occasions when family members tease me that if I chose cricket over athletics, I would have ended elsewhere as a sportsman. But that's just a hypothetical theory. Other than the medals that I won for the country, I have gained almost nothing at all. Had I focused on my studies and career, I would have been in a better position than today. Looking back, I have a mixture of thoughts of my career as an athlete. I'm happy for the medals that I won for the country and for being able to contribute to the country. But at the same time I also have a slight regret for what I missed during these 13 years as a person. When I understood midway, that I would not be able to be strong as an individual, I chose to complete my higher studies while also competing. That's what I did in the recent years, and by now I think I'm just happy to be here, where I am. But this is not the end of the road, it is a new beginning of a different Shehan Ambeypitiya," the soft- spoken athlete stated, with a grin.
Most may not know that Kumar Dharmasena is my first cousin. There are occasions when family members tease me that if I chose cricket over athletics, I would have ended elsewhere as a sportsman. But that's just a hypothetical theory.