A meeting between the Sports Development Department, National Sports Council, National Selection Committee, and the Minister of Sports was held yesterday (21) at the Duncan White Auditorium of the Ministry of Sports with the participation of athletes from several sports disciplines training for the Asian Games.
Several issues faced by athletes were discussed during the meeting and each athlete voluntarily presented their problems to the Minister.
Squash and badminton coaches’ problem
Ravindu Laksiri, the squash national champion, spoke on this occasion and commented on the existing vacancy for a national coach. Earlier, it was revealed that Ravindu had trained under a Pakistani coach, which had contributed towards his rise in world rankings from 600 to 145. The Sports Minister, who focused his attention on this matter, said that he will speak with the sponsors and try to obtain the services of the Pakistani coach again.
The badminton players’ lack of coaches and a specific problem regarding tournaments were also conveyed to the Minister, and Badminton Federation President Rohan de Silva, speaking over the phone at the time, denied the allegations. In response, the Minister ensured that a meeting will be held for all officials and athletes in the future, to address the issue.
National pools’ allowance and diet-related issues
Sri Lankan weightlifter Indika Dissanayake enquired about the procedure for selecting athletes for high-performance squads and brought up his inclusion in a lower-grade squad due to having missed a single medal.
Dissanayake said: “I am not talking about myself at this time. I was the captain of the sports team of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Payments to top-tier squads in many sports have been in default for months since November last year. And the national reserve doesn’t provide us with food. In short, there is no food allowance either.”
The Minister of Sports instructed Sports Development Department Director General Amal Edrisuriya to look into the settlement of the money from the Sports Fund and promised to resolve the issue within a week. Meanwhile, he said that the provision of food to national pools had already commenced and that all resident national pools will be provided with food from today (22) onwards.
Performances in wrestling training
During the meeting, Suranga Kumara, the coach of wrestler Nethmi Ahinsa, praised the Minister for the sponsorship provided to them.
Meanwhile, in an article published last week, a para-athlete commented that he was saddened by the way a journalist had explained the difference between a para-national squad and other athletic squads. In response, the journalist clarified that he had not questioned the commitment of the player but that he only criticised the method by which players are selected for the respective squads.
The Sports Minister, speaking at the press conference, said: “I organised this discussion amidst many accusations. Look at the actual shortcomings these athletes have had to endure. Discussions like this are very important. But we see again the prejudice towards the players due to corrupt officials of sports associations. But I will do my best for the athletes.”