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by Dinesh Weerawansa

Sri Lanka Olympic medallist, Susanthika Jayasinghe paid a tribute to the Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Johnston Fernando for arranging overseas training for 28 top local athletes in Malaysia and Thailand as a part of Sri Lanka's preparations for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, Asia Track & Field Championships and Asian Games.

Jayasinghe said they have been greatly affected with the relaying of the Sugathadasa Stadium track and the Sports Minister's timely intervention helped them to have peace of mind and have their training uninterrupted.

The celebrated Lankan sprint queen said their training schedules would have been badly affected, if the Sports Ministry had not arranged the overseas training for the national athletes.

"On behalf of all Sri Lanka athletes, I must thank Minister Johnston Fernando and Sports Director Milton Amarasinghe in their efforts to send us on overseas training," the Sri Lanka captain for last year's IAAF World Championships in Edmonton said.

Since the Sugathadasa Stadium redevelopment work for the upcoming Asian Championship in Colombo and there is no other artificial local running track is available, Minister Fernando took quick action to send national athletes abroad for training from April 16 to June 30, spending a sum of money as an investment for the future.

Jayasinghe said they will now get a chance to continue their training and that they would make maximum use of the opportunity to bring glory to the country. She also thanked the Minister for coming forward to sponsor her entirely, which would be an inspiration for her to achieve even greater heights.

The first batch of Sri Lankan athletes, which include Sydney Olympics 200m bronze medallist Jayasinghe, Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sriyani Kulawansa and Asian Games gold medallist Sugath Tillakaratne, are due to leave for Kuala Lumpur today. Jayasinghe said the presence of her new coach Lakshman de Alwis too is a big boost for her.

Jayasinghe is regarded as a gold medal prospect in women's 200m. If she does that, she would emulate late Duncan White, who brought glory to Sri Lanka at Olympics and Commonwealth Games in men's 440 yards hurdles more than 50 years ago.

Meanwhile, the second batch of Sri Lankan athletes, which includes Damayanthi Darsha and Rohan Pradeep Kumara, will be leaving for Bangkok on April 30.

Minister Johnston Fernando said that they will give every support and encouragement for the national athletes who are down to compete in three major international meets this year - Commonwealth Games in Manchester in July, Asian Track & Field championships in Colombo in August and Asian Games in Pusan in October.

Minister Fernando said his Ministry will monitor the progress of the athletes and in association with the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka, they have drawn a complete plan for the local athletes. He reassured that the Sugathadasa Stadium track would be ready before mid July and that the 44-nation Asian Athletic championships will be hosted in Colombo as scheduled. 

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