Susanthika has more talent

On August 9, 2007, 16 days before the commencement of the 11th IAAF World Championship in Japan, I wrote about Sri Lanka’s ace woman athlete in this column.

Titled “It’s ten years after Susanthika’s record breaking feat”, we analysed ups and downs in Jayasinghe’s career. In that colum I stated; “Whatever it is, Jayasinghe has been our sole hope at world or international meets.

Hence, to commend or to criticise, we only have Jayasinghe at top level meets. True, that we all expect too much from her at all times. That is because we do not have too many elite athletes to crow about. Though that is not Jayasinghe’s fault, she has been compelled to take that pressure as well,”

Four days after the conclusion of the Osaka World Championship, we have now realised what a talented athlete Jayasinghe is. Unfortunately, we have not invested enough on her, to groom her for the big league alongside the other elite athletes in the world.

Having bagged the women’s 200m bronze in Osaka, on the tenth anniversary of her first medal - a silver in Athens, 1997, Jayasinghe stated that she would have done wonders if she had got at least one tenth of facilities that her other world class opponents get.

That is very true. All what we should have done was to get her a comprehensive training program in a country like the USA under a reputed coach. We should have done that right after her Athens victory ten years ago, if not after her Olympic 200m bronze at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. If we had done that, Jayasinghe would have well given Sri Lanka an Olympic gold.

But to the misfortune of Sri Lanka, we did not make use of such a golden opportunity for an Olympic gold medal and invested on Jayasinghe’s athletic career. It is pity that a highly talented athlete of the calibre of Jayasinghe has wasted her entire golden era, which would have utilised in a more meaningful manner.

At least now, we have to think positively and invest even on our most prospective medal winners. Fortunately, Manjula Kumara Wijesekera has managed to secure a scholarship to study and train at the University of Southern California.

Thanks to the untiring efforts of our former champion high jumber Nagalingam Ethirveeragingam, Wijesekera has got a good break in Los Angeles and is shaping well.

It was Ethirveerasingam who hosted Jayasinghe for a month-long stay in her lead up for the World Championship in Osaka. Though it was insufficient, that made a big contribution to give tremendous confidence and courage to Jayasinghe and that eventually paved the way for her to win her second World Championship medal.

Similarly, we have to think of an immediate break for ace javelin thrower Nadeeka Lakmali, who has already qualified to compete at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Surely, Jayasinghe and Wijesekera would join her in the trip to China.

Olympic champions would not emerge overnight. It’s the hard work and dedication of athletes over a significant period that are turned into medals at Olympic level.

As we have emphasised on many occasions, there are no short cuts to make a world champion or an Olympic medalist. One has to go through the mill, if they have to come good at world level. It’s what you invest and sacrifice that are turned into medals in the big league.

Hence, we have to hand pick our most potential future medalists and offer them lucrative deals in an Olympic super pool. Just throwing a few thousand of rupees at a gala function won’t do.

All Sri Lankans, must make a genuine effort and invest on those highly talented athletes.

Jayasinghe has added a star to Sri Lanka athletics which has been turning gloomy after the retirements of Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sriyani Kulawansa Fonseka and three-time Asian Games gold medalist Damayanthi Darsha.

Even Darsha could have gone well beyond Asian level and won a world medal if we had offered her overseas training in a more meaningful manner. What I feel is that we have not made enough use of Darsha and Jayasinghe. It’s too late now, except in Jayasinghe’s case as we feel she has a couple of years more left in her career.

It’s high time that the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka join hands with the Sports Ministry and the National Olympic Committee and draw a comprehensive program to groom our elite athletes.