“Olympic Committee going gaga”: A Response
This is with reference to the above headl ined l etter sent by Jayantha Gunawardena, appearing in the ‘Reader’s Forum’ of the Sunday Times of January 13,
The Chinese Ice Rink offered to the city of Colombo is an all-expense-covered gift from China. In the particular article he has referred to, National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka ( NOCSL) President Suresh Subramaniam is quoted as saying, “I was also introduced to the Harbin Mayor in the North of China, which is the winter city there. He is keen to help us in Winter sports. In fact, the Colombo Mayor was due to travel to that city but, as she was indisposed, it was delayed by a few days. When that occurs they would sign up an ice rink in Colombo, where our hopefuls could train locally. The Olympic Committee chief in China is very keen to see that we take part in the Winter Olympics of 2022, in China.”
So, the accusation of kickbacks and commissions is out of the question. It is a sport which is already in Sri Lanka, and they are only trying to develop it. Also, it must be mentioned that, since the new President Suresh Subramaniam took over the reins last year, all his travel and lodging with regard to the NOCSL activity has been borne by him personally, and so has Vice President Asanga Seneviratne, while the other officials in the Executive Committee receive only US$ 50 as per diem and not US$ 500 as stated.
Also, if Mr. Gunawardena is a keen follower of Olympic related sports, he must be aware that during the past several Olympic Games, Sri Lanka has taken part in the “winter dream” programme. Sri Lanka was also a part of the 2017 Asian Winter Games which was held in Sapporo, Japan. They took part in 3 Skiing events, 1 Slalom and 1 Snowboarding event.
Besides, Sri Lanka won its first ever Winter ‘Gold’ way back in 2011. Taking part in the first South Asian Winter Games held in Dehradun and Auli in India, Lankan athlete Anita Rollin won the Gold in Snowboarding.
It must also be stated that Winter Olympics are not confined to the Northern and Southern regions of the globe. For Mr. Gunawardena’s information, may we state that ‘ not so wintry’ countries such as Ghana, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Bermuda, Ecuador, Israel, Kenya, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, and Philippines, are regular participants at the winter Olympic programmes.
The last Asian Games may have been barren, yet, Sri Lanka was placed 31st with 1 Silver and 5 Bronze medals at the last Commonwealth Games. It was Sri Lanka’s best performance at the Commonwealth Games since the country won 3 Medals at the 1950 Empire Games, the predecessor of the modern Commonwealth Games.
Sri Lanka won 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in Weightlifting and 3 Bronze medals in Boxing. Besides that, Sri Lanka was successful in winning a medal at the last Junior Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when Parami Marisstella won Bronze in the 2000m Steeplechase event.
It should also be noted that preparing athletes for medals in different sports is the responsibility of the respective associations, as the NOCSL is only a facilitator. Nevertheless, the NOCSL mooted a programme from 2015 to assist needy athletes with monetary allowances and it is ongoing, merely as an encouragement to sports in Sri Lanka.