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| Tuesday, 3 August 2004 |
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End of the track for AASL : Waidyatillake heads Interim Body by Dinesh Weerawansa The Athletic Association (AASL) has been dissolved with immediate effect. Minister of Youth Affairs, Jeewan Kumaratunga, under the powers vested in him by the National Sports Law of 1973, yesterday decided to sack the executive committee of the AASL and replace it with a new five-member Interim Committee. Two former Vice Presidents of the AASL - P.H.D. Waidyatillake and Commodore Shemal Fernando, have been appointed to the top seats of Chairman and Secretary respectively of the new Interim Committee for Athletics. The other three members of the new interim administration are Mrs. Ivy Dissanayake, Upali Jayawardena and Mervyn Perera. Minister Kumaratunga said last evening that several allegations of financial mismanagement and administrative blunders at the track and field governing body prompted them to dissolve the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka. Minister Kumaratunga said there have been large number of complaints against the AASL executive committee. It was only last Friday that the special investigation committee, headed by Elmo Perera, handed over its report to the Minister. However, the Minister said he has no intention of running the local track and field governing body with an interim administration for long. The new AASL Interim Committee chief, P.H.D. Waidyatillake said it is something that he never expected but promised to do a dedicated job. "I have big plans in my mind. I want to continue the good work done and would also like to implement several new. We will give a greater attention to the new national pool with next year's South Asian Games in mind," he said. Waidyatillake, one of the most experienced men in the technical side of track and field in the international arena, said he would make every effort to get the best available facilities and finances to the national pool athletes who have been picked on merit after the recent national championship. "We would go ahead with the relay carnival and a half marathon as well. We have a good team to work with. My aim is to take Sri Lanka athletics to greater heights, to make our presence felt as the hosts of the next South Asian Games. If we work together as a team, could achieve those goals," a determined AASL IC chief said. Meanwhile, the sacked President of the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka denied financial mismanagement and administrative charges against his executive committee and said they are ready to face any probe. He said any member of his executive committee, including himself, would have resigned if the Sports Minister had asked them to do so, without dissolving the local track and field governing body. "We don't want to hang on to this places and create an unpleasant situation with the Sports Ministry. If the Minister had asked us to resign, we would have done so. That would have been a better option" he said. Jayaweera also accused that there is a move to remove from him from the post of manager of the Sri Lanka athletic team for the forthcoming Olympic Games in Athens. |
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