NOC moves to new house today

Chris DHAMBARAGE

It will be a red letter day for Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee when they move to their own house today. This achievement comes to the NOC after nearly eight decades of movement from place to place for their residency.

The President of the National Olympic Committee Hemasiri Fernando expressed hope and a new era for the sportsmen and sportswomen in this country as they set off for a new location situated in an 80 perch land in Reid Avenue, Colombo 7 from today.

Fernando believed that this will be a historic occasion in the Olympic movement of this country that could change the fortune of many top athletes in the coming years.

He felt that this was one of his greatest achievement in his career having served as the head of the NOC for more than a decade.

Fernando compared this memorable occasion equal to a medal winning performance from star sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe in an Olympic Games or even greater than that.

He recalled the amount of difficulties the NOC experienced during the previous South Asian Games in Colombo when their headquarters were situated at the Sugathadasa indoor stadium in Colombo.

However Fernando said that with the construction of the new ‘Olympic House’ they could step into the next stage brimming with confidence as he predicted a bright future for the sportsmen and sportswomen in this country.

He said that the 22 affiliated member Sports Federations will benefit immensely from this new building which includes a modern gymnasium and a auditorium. Even then the President of the NOC stated that they should first concentrate on the regional South Asian Games before focusing on major international events such as the Olympic Games or the World Championships.

He said that sadly this has not materialized in the past and as a result the competitors have failed to make an impact at the highest level.

Fernando said that Sri Lanka should now draw a plan and a strategy to challenge their Asian rivals India in the next South Asian Games and then they should concentrate on the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.

Fernando said that they need to have a solid foundation and by acquiring a new headquarters they have accomplished their mission in an attempt to achieve greater success.

He also paid tribute to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the former Minister of Youth and Affairs and Sports Jeevan Kumaratunga for granting the NOC the valuable land in the heart of the city to construct the headquarters.

The new ‘Olympic House’ has been constructed at a cost of more than 135 million with major funding from the International Olympic Committee and the Asian Olympic Committee in addition to several other companies such as Sri Lanka Telekom Mobitel and Diloag. In a significant move the National Olympic Committee has invited all former Sports Ministers and all former Sports Secretaries to grace today’s opening ceremony which will take place at 10.00 a.m.