The Indian example

Yet another Asian Games has ended, this time without a single gold medal for Sri Lanka after eight years. Despite winning a total of five gold medals at the 1998 Bangkok and 2002 Busan Asian Games, Sri Lanka pocketed just a silver and two bronze medals at the 2006 Doha Games which concluded over the weekend.

While our athletes had hundred and one complaints and excuses to make after their tour of Qatar, one could also not forget the fact how the Indians fared. As the President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) has correctly pointed out, the Indians had only their home made banyans and shorts when they competed against the cream of sportsmen and women from all over Asia.

Yet, the Indian lasses made their presence felt with a superb medal in the women's relay. When our athletes were talking big on Japanese and American big names in track kits, the Indians had the pride in taking the track in their locally manufactured T-shirts and shorts.

As the NOC chief had quite rightly pointed out, the Indians believed in the home made banyans in following the footsteps of their great leader - the late Mahathma Gandhi.

The Indians did make a huge cry like their Lankan counterparts in demanding top international brands in sportswear. The attire was not a problem for them to take the Indian pride to international track.

Yet the Indians were crowned the golden girls at the end while our own women sprinters made a huge cry with a series of allegations from food to climate, training to accommodation, nutrition to track kits etc.

The NOC President said our national athletes were given track kits imported from Japan and China on two occasions for the South Asian Games training. But our elite athletes looked cry babies in covering up their sins with some baseless allegations.

The performance of the Indian women should be an eye opener to all our athletes who rely more on foreign stuff.

But the Indians kept faith in their local stuff and emerged victorious at the end. That is a classic example to all those who keep faith on anything that comes from abroad.

On the other hand, sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe proved her sheer guts in jumping out of a hospital bed to grab two medals at the end. It's miracle only an athlete of her calibre could perform.

Its only two weeks before the Games that Jayasinghe caught a bad viral flu. Director General of Sports Medicine, Dr. Geethanjana Mendis identified it as a severest form of chickungunya, a viral flu that needs a minimum two weeks rest.

When Jayasinghe was con fined to a hospital bed for five days, many doubted her making the trip, forget alone competing or winning.

But unpredictable Jayasinghe once again proved the miracles do happen. She bagged women's 100m silver and 200m bronze, though it was not a big achievement by her standards.

Nevertheless, when one considers the pathetic situation she faced before the Games and the amount of training lost in her lead up to Doha Games, the 31-year-old sprint queen has done her duty by the nation.

On the other hand, it's not fair for her to win medals all the time. She is a human and not a speed machine. She too has natural problems relating to injuries and aging. But for the good or the bad, we have only a few athletes like Jayasinghe.

Adding shame to Sri Lanka's debacle in Doha Games with a 'heavyweight contingent' of nearly 300 members, were our rugby players.

Having suffered two humiliating defeats at the seven-a-side competition, a couple of rugggerites in their Sri Lanka blazers had been thrown out of an exclusive Doha night club.

Informed sources said the rugby players had left the team midway through an official reception to explore the rare and exclusive nightlife in the Qatari capital.

But when the Lankan were going beyond their limits and were misbehaving, the club officials had issued a few warnings - even to summon Police. However, they were later thrown out of the club by the security men on duty.

Instead of denying these accurate stories and trying to cover up things, the SLRFU must take stern action against the culprits. The NOC and the Sports Ministry must conduct separate investigations and ban the players who brought disrepute to our country.

We can not forget the assistance and guidance given to the Sri Lanka contingent by the Sri Lanka Embassy and our community in Qatar. Ambassador S.B. Atugoda and his staff made every possible effort to make the contingent's stay in Doha a comfortable and a memorable one.

Together with the NOC and the Lankan community in Doha, Sri Lanka Embassy in Qatar hosted the Sri Lanka sportsmen and women to a special reception.

Our medallists were also feted by the Lankans living in Doha, who offered special cash awards to Jayasinghe and the men's 4 x 400m relay team.

It's a pity that none of the other Lankan sportsmen and women who competed in as many as 24 disciplines could not make their presence felt.

A big bouquet should go to the First Secretary and the Deputy Head of the Sri Lanka Mission in Qatar, A. G. Abeysekera who did a 'day and night' duty in looking after the needs of our sportsmen and officials. His presence has been a tower of strength to Ambassador Atugoda.