The 15th Asian Junior Athletics Championships:

AJAC will be the best

Chinthana WASALA

The 15th Asian Junior Athletics Championships will feature young athletes from the most number of countries in the games’ 24 year history, according to statistics.

“There will be 544 junior athletes in action during the four-day athletic extravaganza, representing 34 countries. The highest number of countries that took part was in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010, where 27 countries were featured,” Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) president Major General Daya Rathnayake told a press briefing yesterday evening.

The AASL and the Sports Ministry are confident of hosting what they call the best ever Junior Athletic Championship, in the coming days. The colourful opening and closing ceremonies will add prestige to the event. Hundreds of schoolchildren will be featured in the drills and dances, expected to take Sri Lankan identity to the world.

All events will be held at the Sugathadasa Stadium. The venue has been fully renovated to host the games. The cost of renovations was earlier estimated around Rs 100 million. Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said saving a big sum, the renovations were competed at a cost between Rs 60-70 million. The AASL president said after the renovations, Sugathadasa Stadium will receive an ‘A’ Grade certificate in the coming days.

Big cash awards

Minister Aluthgamage promised big cash awards for the winning Lankan juniors, marking a significant improvement of recognition for junior athletes. The gold, silver and bronze medalists will receive Rs 500,000, Rs 300,000 and Rs 150,000 while if the athletes win a relay event, they will be awarded Rs 600,000. Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne will be the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony tomorrow. President Rajapaksa will grace the closing ceremony as the Chief Guest on June 12.

Meanwhile, one of the most powerful personalities in the global sports scene, member of Kuwaiti Royal family and Asian Olympic Council President Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah will visit Sri Lanka next week. He will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and will also make an announcement about an important sporting event to be held in Sri Lanka.