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by Dinesh Weerawansa

It's 36 days to go for the 43-nation Asian Athletic Championships to be held in Colombo in August. This is the 14th in a series of articles in the ANCL English language newspapers, which leads the largest-ever sporting event to be hosted by Sri Lanka. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) (Print media sponsor) and Dialog GSM (Sri Lanka team sponsor and the official web hoster) are two of the six Gold sponsors of the event. The official website of the meet is: http:// www.asianathletics2002.com.

Sri Lanka, India and Japan will field three of the largest teams for the 14th Asian Athletic Championship to be worked off Colombo in August. Sri Lanka's 105-member team will be their largest ever in the Asian Championship history.

Of the visiting teams, neighbours India will field the largest team of 82 athletes while Japan has 71, third highest of the teams participating at the Asian Championships to be worked off at the Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo from August 8 to 12.

With Colombo's Sugathadasa Stadium making final preparations for Sri Lanka's biggest ever sporting extravaganza, it will be interesting to go back to the history of the Asian Athletic championship and its origins.

The Asian Track and Field Championships was originally planned at the 1962 Asian Games through the initiative of Major General Aziz Salleh the Chief of the Indonesian Federation (PASI), but went a-begging with the "emergence" of the ill conceived first and last Games of the Emerging Forces (GANEFO).

The idea to hold the Championships was revived by the Malaysian A.A.U. President, Tan Sri Mohamed Ghazali Shafie, at the 1966 Asian Games at Bangkok, which again met no better fate as circumstances outside the control of athletics idealist intervened.

At the 1970 Asian Games, the Sports Minister of the Indian State of Punjab, Sardar Umrao Singh, took up the challenge and plans for the First Asian Championships at Delhi were finalised with R.L. Anand appointed Director of the Organisation when political developments in the sub-Continent thrust the plans not only out of gear but out of sight for another two years.

However, they kept up the tempo and though unable to hold the Championships, they called for a meeting of the Asian Athletic Team officials at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. It was there that Governor Jose C. Sering, President of the Philippines Track and Field Association (PATAFA) took up the challenge and history was made when the First Asian Track and Field Championships got off the launching pad and was held at the Marikina Stadium near Manila in November 1973.

The Constitution of the Asian Amateur Athletic Association and the Rules governing the Asian Track and Field Championships were ratified as amended at the First Asian AAA Congress Meeting at Manila, Philippines, in November 20-21, 1973 and Governor Jose C. Sering became the first President of the properly constituted Asian Amateur Athletic Association and Maurice R. Nicholas, the first secretary-general.

The Asian AAA Constitution was presented at the 29th Congress of the International Amateur Athletic Federation held in Rome in August 29-31, 1974, and was accepted after a vote was taken.

Sri Lanka had a lean run at the early stages of the Asian Championship history. Sri Lanka won its first gold medals at the Asian Championships in Jakarta, 1995. Susanthika Jayasinghe (women's 200m) and Sriyani Kulawansa (women's 100m hurdles) won gold medals in their respective events.

But shortly afterwards, Jayasinghe was first tested positive for banned anabolic steroid, Nandralone. Even China, which won the silver in women's 200 at the 1995 meet, demanded that Jayasinghe should be stripped off her medal and it should be given to their sprinter who came second. But Jayasinghe kept her cool and the truth emerged victorious at the end.

Thanks to scientific evidences, supported by Dr. A. R. L. Wijesekera, that a drug taken by the Lankan woman sprinter to delay her periods has similar organic compounds found in Nandralone, persuaded 4As to clear Jayasinghe from all charges. 

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