Any bets for World C'ships ?

The next edition of the IAAF World Championship will be held in Berlin, Germany in August. Sri Lanka has been a regular participant at the World Athletic Championships, winning two medals in 1997 and 2007. Incidentally, it was Sri Lanka sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe who won both medals for us.

Now that Jayasinghe has hung her spikes and with the retirement of our elite athletic brigade comprising Damayanthi Darsha, Sugath Tillakaratne and Sriyani Kulawansa, the million dollar question is whether Sri Lanka has any bets for the forthcoming World Championship in Athletics? Will there be contender from Sri Lanka who would qualify to compete at the IAAF World Championship in Germany?

Having covered the last four World Championships (2001 Edmonton, 2003 Paris, 2005 Helsinki and 2007 Osaka), I am wondering who would be able to Lanka's challenge to Berlin. That is the very same question my fellow sports writer Channaka de Silva, the Sports Editor of the Daily Mirror who has been to the last on World Championships with me, asked me recently.

Despite numerous efforts by local athletic authorities to resurrect our track and field, we still have been unable to find good replacements for Jayasinghe, Darsha, Kulawansa or Tillakaratne. Not only have we failed to find good replacements but we have at found anyone who could compete close to their timings.

The only prospect I could see right now at international level is young Shehan Ambepitiya, who won three gold medals at the Junior World Championships. But it would be a tall order for the Gateway International student if he makes it to the upcoming World Championships in Berlin.

Undoubtedly Ambepitiya, coached by former Sri Lanka Asia Games gold medallist Sunil Gunawardena, is the best bet for the future. But he needs more experience at the highest level to make his presence felt at senior world level.

The progress of high jumper Manjula Kumara Wijesekera, who is on a sports scholarship in Los Angeles, USA is not known. Ever since his career best leap of 2.27m at the 2004 National Championships to qualify for Athens Olympic Games, Wijesekera has not been able to better his national record. Under the circumstances, we cannot expect anything sensational from Wijesekera, unless he makes rapid progress in the forthcoming season.

One cannot expect the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) to a lone battle. Under the dynamic leadership of Major General Palitha Fernando, the AASL is making a sincere effort to improve the standard of local track and field, but they have not got enough support from the Sports Ministry, especially in their effort to attract more sponsors.

Not only the AASL but many other National Sports Associations (NSAs) are struggling to find sponsors. It is the duty of the Sports Ministry to woo sponsors and help the NSAs. If the budgetary allocations are insufficient to meet the demand, the Sports Ministry will have to look for the sponsors. Instead of satting in their air-conditioned cubicles, the Sports Ministry officials must go all over the island spotting talent. As we had stressed last week, even the sportsmen and women who were in the National Olympic pool are finding it hard to maintain their sports careers as they lack sponsorships. If the Olympics contenders are without sponsors and don't get a cent from the Sports Ministry for their existence, how could poor rural athletes come to the limelight under trying conditions?

Enough and more attention is paid to the money spinner - cricket and the Sports Ministry is now manning the country's richest sports governing body which is under a one-man interim administration. The Sports Ministry officials must leave the job of handling cricket administration with professionals in cricket and play a better role to improve the overall standard of Sri Lanka sport. Even if there is not going to be fresh elections for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), an interim administration with men qualified financial administration should be appointed to man the SLC, leaving the Sports Ministry Secretary to play a broader role at national level.

The 1996-2000 tried and tested method of finding team sponsors for each sport under the Sports Ministry initiative should be implemented. Instead of depending on State funds, the Sports Ministry officials must make use of their good office and do a little bit of marketing to find a sponsor for each NSA. In doing so, the Sports Ministry will become less of a burden to the Treasury.

There is enough and more talent in the provinces. What we lack is a comprehensive method of spotting that raw talent and grooming them for future. Instead of making fresh investments, we have been depending entirely on the old brigade to take Sri Lanka sport forward. That should not be the case.

Those uncut sporting gems should be groomed carefully. We must make an investment for the future. Unless we do that and sharpen the skills of those talented rural athletes, our sporting future would look gloomy. Sri Lanka's top most athletes in recent times have been true village products.

Jayasinghe came from Warakapola, Darsha from Ampara, Kulawansa from Kurunegala and Tillakaratne from Nuwara Eliya. If we had not spotted their talent early and groomed them, we would not have won an Olympic medal after 52 years, Asian Games gold medal after 24 years, an IAAF World Championship medal for the first time and Asian Championship gold medals.

It is high time that we go back to the provinces in a talent search and have an intermediate pool for a two-year period so that it could serve as the feeder pool for the national team.

But all needs of the poolists should be looked after and it's the duty of the Sports Ministry either to allocate funds or to find sponsors. It is important that we implement this right now and prepare for the 2012 Olympics and 2010 Asian Games.