Sri Lankan contingent leaves for China tomorrow:

Athletes and golfers main medal hopes

By Dinesh WEERAWANSA

The first batch of Sri Lanka’s contingent for the 16th Asian Games is due to leave for China in the early hours of November 11 (tomorrow). The Asian version of the Olympics - the Asian Games, is due to start in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday.

Sri Lanka will be fielding one of its biggest contingents in the Asian Games history with a strength of 104 competitors.

Secretary General of the NOC Maxwell de Silva told the Daily News that the 104 sportsmen and women who have been picked to represent Sri Lanka will leave for Guangzhou in five batches, depending on their training and competition schedules. The first batch, which will leave Colombo in the early hours of tomorrow include a part of the athletic team, gymnasts and boxers.

The second batch, which includes the badminton team, is due to leave for China in the early hours of Saturday and the balance will fly to China in three batches from next Monday. Leading the strong Sri Lanka contingent will be golfer Mithun Perera.

In fact, Sri Lanka’s main medal hopes at the Games, apart from athletes, will be golfers who have shown good form in Asian amateur circuit.

The officials accompanying the contingent will include seven managers, 22 coaches, nine officials and one lady chaperon making the full contingent of 143 from Sri Lanka.

Chef-de-Mission of the Sri Lanka contingent, Prema Pinnawale has already arrived on Guangzhou to represent Sri Lanka at the Chef-de-missions’ meeting held prior to the games to fine tune arrangements for the visiting teams.

He has been in touch with Colombo, facilitating necessary arrangements for the Sri Lanka contingent, which is sponsored by Singer Sri Lanka with a lavish package.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in China, Karunatillake Amunugama too is showing a keen interest in looking after the interests of the Lankan contingent. Sri Lanka will compete in 22 disciplines with athletes taking a major portion of the team. With Sri Lanka bidding to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the forthcoming Asian Games will give an ideal opportunity for Sri Lanka to pick its future medal prospects and groom them for the future.

Most of the competitors are due to check in at the Athletes’ Village ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony which is bound to be a rich blend of Chinese traditions and modern techniques.

Having hosted the most successful Olympic Games in Beijing two years ago, China is looking forward to add a new dimension to Asian Games with another spectacular event. The hosts are making every endeavour to make the athletes’ stay a memorable one. Most of the athletes who have already arrived have commended the venue and the environment in the village.

Guangzhou Athletes’ Village is the biggest in the history of the Asian Games, with 49 buildings providing accommodation to over 10,000 athletes and officials.

It would not only offer top class facilities but would also encourage a platform for cultural exchange. The organizers have said that they intend to create a venue for athletes to exchange their own cultures.

According to the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee, most of the athletes will arrive over the next few days, raising their national flags in the centre square. Guangzhou has done everything it can to make the experience for all the competitors a good one.