Hurling the shuttle over
I wish to draw your kind attention to the above article written by Mr. Bernie Wijesekera and wish to clarify some details which appeared in the article. .In the second paragraph it is said that Romesh De Silva played in the match. He didn’t play in 1979. .In the sixth paragraph it is stated that Rohan Jayasekera and Roger Wijesuriya played in that match. Rohan Jayasekera didn’t play in 1979 and for your information Roger Wijesuriya played for St; Sebastians and not Royal. .In the ninth paragraph it is stated that four schoolboys represented Sri Lanka in the 1979 World Cup. Only three schoolboys represented Sri Lanka in 1979. Namely; Ranjan Madugalle and Sudath Pasqual From Royal and Roger Wijesuriya From St; Sebastians. Forwarded for your information.
Daya Samaraweera 29/255 Ampitiya Road,
Kandy
The Ministry of Sports in Sri Lanka revealed last week that it would come forward to help nearly 20 sports disciplines with the aim of winning a record number medals in the forthcoming South Asian Games (SAG) which will be held in New Delhi, India. The Ministry hopes to achieve this colossal feat by providing foreign coaches to potential sports that are not privileged of spending heavily on foreign expertise.
Among the sports targeted are archery, athletics, cycling, boxing, swimming, volleyball, wushu, rifle shooting, taikwondo, weightlifting, judo, tennis, karate, kabaddi, handball, hockey, squash, wrestling and badminton, a sport that has already produced an Olympian for the forthcoming games to be held in London. The Ministry has intended in recruiting coaches from countries that are globally in the lead at a relevant sport while promising financial assistance to respective local governing bodies in meeting these coaches’ salaries.
Through this programme badminton is a sport that will be greatly benefited. The sport suffered more heavily during the past two years or so due to clashes within, among the administrators who were less bothered on its development. Instead of going forward the state of badminton dragged towards depths where even the players were sectioned due to clashes among officials and many who governed the sport. But within eight months Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) is almost back on track and their efforts will be further boosted with the arrival of two foreign coaches from Malaysia and Japan. The President of SLB, Parakrama Basnayake revealed on their developments.
“We are hoping of bringing down two foreign coaches to train our national players. Malaysian coach Shankar Annamalai and Japanese coach Yamashaki are due to arrive in Sri Lanka shortly. Annamalai is familiar with the Sri Lankan background and Yamashaki, a former world rank player and the former national coach of Maldives will train the national women squad. Lately Sri Lanka has been winning at international events and what we need now is to sustain our dominance. The Malaysian coach will be looked after by the Ministry of Sports and the JICA (Japan International Corporation Agency) based in Colombo helps us with the Japanese coach. This is a very good step forward for badminton in Sri Lanka,” Basnayake said. Basnayake who took over the reigns of SLB at a time when it was battered in many ways was certain of the days ahead where badminton hopes to achieve more than wins and medals. Under Basnayake’a administration in eight months Sri Lanka has already won ten international tournaments while 10-time national champion Niluka Karunaratne too made it into the Olympics as a result. Though achieving a medal at Olympics is considered a bonus, Basnayake was optimistic with his vision where he aims to start winning medals from the forthcoming SAG. SLB has already drawn plans to overcome mighty India, a country where badminton players are mostly professionals.
“In 2009 we just won one international medal and in 2010 it was two. But in 2011 we were able to win eight and this year we already have won two. It’s a great progress and we hope to win more in the coming months. The secret behind these successes was the freedom we gave to players and the faith we have among us. We provided them with facilities and the freedom, even to train under their personal coaches. Our objective is to give these players the international exposure. Before the SAG we have plans to send our national players to some of the Asia Pacific countries for train- ing, in order to build their chances of winning. We have planned in sending our players to Indonesia, Malaysia and China for training and we already have the support from Yonex Sunrise for this cause,” he added.
To make a rapid development in a short phase of eight months is a colossal task and Basnayake being a player himself for the past two decades knew what exactly to do and what the players wanted. Until recent the facilities available for national level players were far below of what national players of other countries receive. Sri Lankan players just possess the very basics while other countries enjoy the ultra modern facilities at international level, such as latest techniques, coaches, trainers, masseurs and medical staff. Still to date Sri Lankan shuttlers travel by themselves sometimes accompanied by officials who are just motivators as a matter of fact.
“We have identified these shortcomings and we will start by supplying all of the needed facilities to Karunaratne until he goes for the Olympics. In addition we don’t have proper indoor stadiums in Sri Lanka. The courts we have at SLB consist of wooden floor but when our players go for international tournaments they have to play on synthetic courts. I have brought up this matter with the Ministry of Sports and the Minister has assured the SLB of an international grade badminton court at each sports facility that are being built at district level. Many are under construction while we already have services of the Kandy and Kurunegala stadiums. In addition the Mercantile Badminton Association, which is an affiliated member of SLB, is constructing an indoor badminton complex inclusive of five playing courts with synthetic floor. We will be able to make use of their facility too.”
Basnayake, a product of Walala Central where he reached the national level in elle, volleyball, athletics and soccer later joined Science College Matale and played hockey where he even represented the country. But badminton was a sport that he took up after leaving school. But due to his commitment Basnayake was able to win all the major tournaments, categories and even the national titles in masters and veterans classes. His experience as a player during the past two decades has come in handy while executing his policies in a way that will please all stakeholders of badminton.
“I saw the administration in
To make a rapid development in a short phase of eight months is a colossal task and Basnayake being a player himself for the past two decades knew what exactly to do and what the players wanted.
the past and I was really depressed by their unhealthy tug-of-war, which is not helpful for the sport. I joined the administration after so many invitations. Until I took over I didn’t know that these disputes and factions among officials were far too serious than they appeared. But today it has come to a point that they forget these problems and work to develop the sport. Administrators from time to time may boast of what they have done to the sport but a sport will not sustain if the players are not well looked after. By just providing the basic facilities you cannot create a top class player. They badly need the psychological assistance and that was one aspect many of our past administrators neglected. Today we are on the verge of providing our players all these necessities as our aim is to produce professional badminton players from here on.”
“Had the previous administrators played their role with national interest I wouldn’t have to do all these instant work. As a player I could understand the players’ grievances and needs so I knew what exactly to do. We do not undervalue our local coaches by our decision to bring down two foreign coaches. But what was evident during the past few years was the lack of corporation among themselves and they have this funny habit of owning certain players which leads to faction among players too. It is clear that players don’t belong to any individual or coach; they are assets of the nation. But anyone has the freedom of producing players to the national stream. Players too need to work under different coaches if they are to become the best out of the best. And when they reach the national level it’s the responsibility of SLB to buff their talents and help them reach become professionals,” asserted Basnayake.
(Pic by Hasitha Kulasekara)