Stop complaining and perform like Indians

NOC President tells Sri Lankan athletes:

Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from Qatar

ASIAN GAMES: Sri Lanka Olympic boss, Hemasiri Fernando said our athletes must stop complaining and perform under available resources to take Sri Lanka to international sporting glory. His remarks came days after star woman sprinter and the overall captain of the Sri Lanka contingent Susanthika Jayasinghe told media that the athletes were ill-treated and even did not have proper track kits to wear at competitions.

Taking the gold medal winning Indian women's relay team as an example, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka said it is not the attire that matters but one's performance.

"You would have seen that superb performance by the Indian girls in the relay. They did not have expensive track kits. All they had was that Indian made top like their great leader Mahathma Ghandi. The Indian girls wore home made shorts. But that did not bother them or affect their performance. They ran magnificently to take the gold medal and made their country proud," Fernando said.

Fernando said the NOC got down expensive track kits from abroad for the Lankan athletes for the South Asian Games four months back. "They are only interested in expensive track kits, not to do their duty by the nation."

He stressed the importance of having a national sports policy and was confident of getting the backing of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in doing so. He has first hand information and knowledge as a former President of two national sports association and as a great follower of sport, he added.

Taking the fastest woman at the Doha Asian Games as an example, Fernando said it's only the performance and devotion that matter to make a champion sportsman, not the expensive branded track kits.

"That girl from Bahrain Ruqaya Al Ghassara ran in the 100m in a completely covered track kit. Only her face was open in keeping with Islamic customs. But that was not a problem for her. She bagged the 100m gold medal and 200m bronze and said that attire was a blessing for her to go great guns," Fernando observed.

He also noted that there had been a complaint to the NOC on the eleventh hour changing of the women's 4 x 100m relay team. "I was told that the relay team was changed at the last minute because Susanthika (Jayasinghe) objected to have another sprinter in the team. We have to look into that. Athletes can't dictate terms to the team management however good they may be on performance-wise," the NOC chief continued.

Fernando added that the selection of the relay team is entirely a matter concerning the team manager and coach. "It is up to the manager and the coach to decide on the composition of the relay team. How could Susanthika or any other athlete dictate terms to them? On the other hand, if the team management had granted permission for such a demand from any athlete, that is a shameless act. There are managers and coaches for such decision making," Fernando explained.

The NOC chief, who is set to take up a high-profile post of Vice President at the Olympic Council of Asia mid next year, said Sri Lanka brought a huge contingent for the Asian Games as Doha organisers were generous enough to provide food and accommodation to all participating teams.

"That was a huge bonus for participating teams. Hence, we decided to give maximum possible experience and exposure to our second string sportsmen and women.

"That was a big opportunity as we only had to find the airfare. Hence, we decided to take all gold and silver medallists of the 10th South Asian Games. In addition, we included several other disciplines which were not there at the SA Games proper. But it's sad that most national associations did not make adequate preparations for the Asian Games," he continued.

Fernando stressed the need to identify future international events and train the sportsmen and women in a systematic manner. But he hit back at critics who put blame on the NOC for Sri Lanka's debacle at the Asian Games.

"You must realise that the NOC is not a factory that makes medals. We are there to assist the national sports associations (NSAs) as a link to the IOC. We have various IOC solidarity programs and grants to the NSAs to support their promotional work. But it's the duty of the NSAs to train their sportsmen and women in a systematic way. It's their responsibility, they can't put the blame on somebody else and wash their hands off," he said.

Fernando also observed several instances where the NSAs had forwarded inaccurate performance records of Sri Lanka sportsmen and women in order to secure a greater participation for their sports. The Lankan Olympic head said all such correspondence on performance should go through the NOC and the National selection committee and not the NSAs or their selection committees.

Commenting on the international events lined up for Sri Lanka next year, Fernando said Sri Lanka will participate in the Asian Indoor Games and the inaugural Winter South Asian Games during 2007. He also stressed the need to implement a proper training schedule for the most prospective sportsmen and women who could gain qualifying standards for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Thursday, Doha.