Looking for success in the New Year

It’s yet another New Year, filled with expectations, hopes and determinations. It will no different in the sports arena and our sportsmen and women would undoubtedly be looking forward to a rich harvest in the New Year - 2009.

Sri Lanka cricket team will be celebrating the New Year in Bangladesh, where they are currently engaged in a two-Test series which will be followed by a five-match one day international series.

Mahela Jayawardene and his men would find things to their liking in Bangladesh but could not expect the same when they tour Pakistan in the very next international series.

Sri Lanka will be touring Pakistan early this year and it will be an acid test for Jayawardene and his Lankan cricketing brigade. The Lankans were inked in as replacements for India, who pulled out after the recent terror attacks in Mumbai.

Gigantic task

Having met two of the weakest teams in international cricket - Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in successive series, Sri Lanka will have to come out with a vastly improved performance to match Pakistan. It will be a gigantic task for Sri Lanka as Pakistan has always been formidable opponents on home soil. But it will be interesting to see how Pakistani batsmen tackle Sri Lanka’s new bowling sensation Ajantha Mendis.

Pakistan has a track record of playing spin well and Mendis and experienced Muttiah Muralitharan will have to be at their wily best to tame the Pakistani batsmen. The unexpected tour has been a blessing in disguise for Sri Lanka who would have been starved of international cricket until May.

On the other hand, the Sri Lanka Cricket coffers would be filled by USD 1.5 million due to the unexpected tour. It is definitely a big bonus for the local cricket governing body which lost an estimated USD two million after the cancellation of their tour of England this summer.

The first task for the Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge will be to name a fresh interim committee to man Sri Lanka’s richest sports governing body after the SLC interim administration, headed by Arjuna Ranatunga, was dissolved a few days ago. We strongly believe that Minister Lokuge would start the New Year with right move by including knowledgeable and experienced men in the new SLC Interim Committee.

National pool

Sri Lanka’s main target this year should be to groom a good national pool for next year’s Asian Games in China. Having won three gold medals in Bangkok 1998 Games (winning a gold medal after 24 years) and a solitary gold at Busan 2002 Games, a gold medal for Sri Lanka at Asian Games is long overdue.

Hence, it is utmost important that we make early preparations, instead of our customary last minute makeshift teams. There will be around 22 months to make preparations for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou and we must make every endeavour to discover rural talent and groom them to produce ‘gold’.

Unfortunately, some of the talented young sportsmen and women who were in the Sri Lanka contingent for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are a forgotten lot. Forget the athletes who are on the verge of their retirements such as Susanthika Jayasinghe but the young brigade certainly needs a helping hand.

Weightlifter Chinthana Vidanage, shuttler Thilini Jayasinghe and swimmer Mayumi Raheem are capable of making Sri Lanka proud at international level.

Helping hand

There are several other talented young sportsmen and women, including Junior Commonwealth Games triple gold medallist Shehan Ambepitiya, who needs a helping hand and correct guidance.

It is a pity that the monthly allowances of Olympic pooists have been stopped immediately after the Beijing Games. Though that is reasonable enough for poolists who are set to announce their retirements, this decision has put some of the young future medal prospects in deep trouble. They do not get any financial backing at present to continue their training.

Minister Lokuge has already pledged to resume the monthly allowance for those who deserve from this month. We hope that the Sports Ministry officials will get in to action before long.

The Sports Ministry must initiate the formation of three separate pools for future Olympics, Asian Games and South Asian Games - at three different levels. Those who come out with notable performance at various standards could get promotions to higher pools, depending on Asian Games and Olympic Games general qualifying standards.

The next edition of the eight-nation South Asian Games are scheduled for this year and it will be an ideal lead-up for our sportsmen and women prior to the 2010 Asian Games. If the budgetary allocations are insufficient to maintain three pools for different sport at different levels, the Sports Ministry must intervene to obtain private sector financial backing.

Grooming our talented sportsmen and women for the future is important. We cannot expect good results if we do not make an investment for the future.

Sri Lanka sport practically experienced this in the late 90s when the formation of the Olympic super pool led our athletes to win Asian Games gold medals after 24 years, an Olympic medal after 52 years and the first ever IAAF World Championship medal.

We must reintroduce that successful formula to resurrect Sri Lanka sport this year. We must give every possible encouragement and financial backing to our future medal prospects and keep their minds free to concentrate on their sporting careers.

Athletes such as Ambepitiya definitely deserve a better recognition and incentives to sharpen their skills. We hope the Sports Minister and our officials would give serious thought to these important points so that we could expect a better ‘sporting harvest’ this year.