Athletics, the crooked side

Sri Lanka enjoyed mixed fortunes at the 16th Asian Athletic Championships concluded in South Korea over the weekend. It was a story of grace and disgrace as Sri Lanka survived early shocks of decamping of three of their athletes to win two gold medals on the final day of the meet in Incheon.

Three Sri Lanka athletes went missing during the first two days of the meet, two of them even before competing in their respective events. It was obvious that the three lads were seeking greener pastures, as they see no future, not only for them, but also for our athletes.

Nevertheless, it was a sin for which there should be no pardon. The disgrace brought to Sri Lanka due to their shameless act not only gave a bitter experience to the remaining athletes but could also shut the door for our future sportsmen and women travelling to developed countries. Whatever the financial difficulties they are undergoing, they should not have committed such an act at the expense of our future athletes.

But at the same time, we must look into the circumstances under which those athletes were forced to decamp. Of course they would have been in two minds before leaving their team mates. Perhaps, they may not have seen any other alternative as they do not see a future in Sri Lanka athletics.

We are not trying to justify their act, which we condemn totally, but we must also see the human angle of the pathetic circumstances under which the three athletes were forced to take that hard decision.

Simply, one can not see any future for Sri Lanka athletics as well as our athletes. There was a time that the feats of our medallists like Susanthika Jayasinghe, Damayanthi Darsha, Sriyani Kulawansa and Sugath Tillakaratne were rewarded for their sweat with cash awards, houses, monthly incentives, vehicles, individual sponsorships and employment.

Thanks to the efforts made by those who governed track and field in Sri Lanka at that time, those athletes had some hope. Of course those investments had big returns by the way of an Olympic medal, Commonwealth Games silver medal, IAAF World Championship silver medal and three Asian Games gold medals within a space of less than four years.

Unfortunately, those who govern athletics now have not realised the importance of motivating and building self-confidence amongst sportsmen and women. As a result, the present day athletes do not see a future and feel insecure and helpless. Even their achievements are not duly recognised.

The athletes who went missing in Korea have been in the Sri Lanka team for some time. They have even toured countries like Japan and France during the last couple of years.

If their sole intension had been to become illegal immigrants in a developed country, they would have done that before. It seems that they have finally lost their patience with shattered dreams, as they do not see any future.

True, that's not an excuse by any means to justify their shameless act. But we must at least get the message given by the athletes who went missing. If we do not secure a future for our athletes, this type of incidents could be more frequent and it would come to a stage where none of the big countries would accommodate our sportsmen and women.

The other suspicious act was the way the Athletic Association handled the ticketing of over 43 members of the Sri Lanka team to Korea. Though George Stuarts Travels had quoted some Rs. 57,000 plus per passenger, the ticketing was awarded to a favourite travel agency of theirs in Fort for Rs. 62,000 plus each, citing the lowest bid came two days late.

When actual direct flying time to Korea is around eight hours from Singapore or Bangkok, our team had to travel some 33 hours (with a long transit and a near three-hour bus ride to a hotel in Malaysia), which was good enough time to fly to America.

But the best news was that a Sri Lanka baseball team, travelling to Incheon with our athletes on the same flight, had paid only Rs. 55,000 each for their passage. Travel sources said actual ticket rates would be little over Rs. 50,000/- as it was a large group. Who made that profit of Rs. 12,000/- from each ticket?

Normally, the AASL gets one month's credit for their tickets. But a top official has sent the cheque for over two million rupees to the travel agent just a couple of days after the team's departure.

Sports Minister Jeewan Kumaranatunga should initiate an inquiry into these shortcomings. After all his Ministry is pumping Rs. four million into the sport each year from valuable public funds.