How did we fare in 2016
Although we won medals at the South Asian Games (SAG) in India and at the South Asian Swimming Championships (SASC) in Colombo, our overall performances this year was not really satisfying. The reason is because our medals were based on the individual brilliance of Matthew Abeysinghe, Kimiko Raheem and a couple of other top swimmers. Apart from this, we did not see any significant performances from the Sri Lankan swimmers in an Asian level championship. The reason behind this setback is the internal crisis within the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Association. Sri Lanka was able to win medals at the SAG and at the SASC not due to the efforts of the officials but mainly due to the commitment of the swimmers and coaches.
The National Body does not have a proper plan. Their preparations begin just two or three months ahead of any major tournament. We cannot win international medals with this kind of preparations. We also cannot develop this sport with this kind of attitude. The officials of the National Body and the Sports Ministry have failed to put up a long term plan. Sri Lanka won 12 Gold Medals, 16 Silver Medals and 11 Bronze Medals at the last SAG held in India. Out of the 12 gold medals, Abeysinghe won seven Gold Medals while Raheem won five Gold Medals. Sri Lanka fielded 21 swimmers for the SAG. This is a clear indication that we have won gold medals mainly through the performances of two swimmers. This also shows that there is hardly any improvement in the sport. But we have plenty of talented swimmers in the country. As a result we cannot say that Sri Lanka had a successful year in swimming. But overall as a country we won 25 Gold Medals, 57 Silver Medals and 89 Bronze Medals at the SAG. Out of this the swimmers were able to bag 12 Gold Medals, 16 Silver Medals and 11 Bronze Medals. Some might think the figures indicate an encouraging sign for swimming in Sri Lanka. However, this may not give the clear picture of the real situation as the Sri Lankan contingent included 484 competitors.
The Ministry of Education and the Sports Ministry has now launched a talent search to identify promising Under-13 swimmers in the country. This is a very good thing. The Sri Lanka Schools Swimming Association is also planning to organise nine Province Meets. This will be a good chance for Sri Lanka to select few talented swimmers. This talent search programme will also enable to spread the sport across the country. I think only in few sports like cricket, weightlifting, carrom and hockey events that we have made any significant impact in the international arena. We cannot see any progress from the rest of the sports. The Sports Minister is boasting that Sri Lanka were placed second in the overall medals tally after winning 25 Gold Medals from 23 sports events at the SAG in 2016. However, this is not a huge achievement as Sri Lanka won 44 Gold Medals, 34 Silver Medals and 40 Bronze Medals at the 1991 South Asian Federation Games in Colombo while competing in 10 sports events. This is probably the biggest achievement in the history of South Asian Games.
We will achieve nothing with this kind of boasting. We need a high performance plan for future development. I can remember I prepared a high performance plan along with Susanthika Jayasinghe and a former netball player and presented it to the then Sports Minister. But the current Sports Ministry officials are not aware of this document. A nation needs a national plan to move forward in sports. But currently we do not have a national plan while the Sports Minister’s also keep changing their plans each time they come into power. In India the sports in governed by the Indian Sports Authority and they maintain a national plan for many years. They do not change the national plan just because there is a change in the high ranking officials. Their plan is conducted quite smoothly without any interference.
They draw out special plans for the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships. Sri Lanka also needs to work out a similar national plan. Today we do not have the talented officials to draw out a good plan. The administrative officials in the Sports Ministry also keep on changing. The main goal of the Sports Ministry officials has been on foreign tours. They are keener on the number of officials who would accompany the squad at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Sri Lanka’s sports plan is based on foreign tours. Our main target at the Rio Olympic Games was about the officials accompanying the athletes.