Haphazard manager shell-shocks juniors
By Anjana Kaluarachchi
Anil Weerasinghe, who has again been appointed as the Team Manager for the Sri Lanka junior athletics team once again has begun his usual acts of fury and ‘idiocracy’ leaving junior athletes in shock, angered and dejected. These have taken place just three days prior to the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship to be held 5 – 6 May at Sugathadasa Stadium Colombo.
A school PTI by profession at the Janadhipathi BV, Nawala and Weerasinghe was nowhere to be seen on the last day of the Junior National, at the time of finalizing of the junior team. Ceylon Today was present at the sports hostel for interviews of junior athletes on Sunday where parents took them to the sports hostel where their residential training took place and Weerasinghe was nowhere to be seen to make sure of the smoothness of the process undertook an immense responsibility for a large junior contingent of 84.
But Weerasinghe had made sure to make the junior athletes’ life living hell on Monday night antagonizing the whole junior team accusing and blaming them for several things including going out for training at the Torrington Stadium. He also slandered officials, who were there to work throughout the last few months during the weekly residential training of the junior pool.
Weerasinghe had gone on to slander junior athletes including a prominent athlete who had broken an years old record and is a prime medal prospect in three events because they went for practices without informing him.
The junior team used to train all throughout the country in their residential areas, although they were forced into residential training in Colombo just a few days ahead of the Junior South Asian, the only purpose of it being for them to have better and regular training. The athletes questioned how fair was it to be at the receiving end from a team manager, for doing exactly what they were there to do. To top that most of the junior team members had no idea as to who was Weerasinghe until that time, as he was nowhere to be found during the last few days of the junior national, until Monday last.
Weerasinghe who became insecure of his position with capable officials handling the junior teams’ affairs smoothly in his absence had attempted to exclude them from the team by forcing an official to write a letter to the AASL on behalf of him, (as he is incapable of writing a formal letter) naming his favourites and ‘drinking buddies’ as team officials.
Weerasinghe has been drunk during most of the night during the weekly residential training for junior athletes including the recent date during the Junior National Championship where a prime junior jumper had been suffering with a breathing difficulty. Ultimately he is said to have sent someone else to take care of the incident and take him for necessary treatment as he had been too drunk to attend on the matter.
Weerasinghe had managed to get involved with the Athletics Association (AASL) due to his bureaucracy despite his questionable behaviour, lack of knowledge and lack of English communication skills essential to be a team manager in an international event.
Prime example for his miss-behaviour was Sri Lanka losing a possible gold medal back in 2013 during the previous edition of the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship.
Long jumper Sarangi Silva was the prime gold medal hope of Sri Lanka during the championship but her event was clashing with the 4x100m relay. It’s the team manager’s duty to inform the organizers of such clashes at the team manager’s meeting where if information had come in time, the organizers tend to adjust the schedule, giving chances for athletes to compete.
But since Weerasinghe was incapable of understanding anything discussed during the manager’s meeting had not been able to communicate the matter and Sarangi had to go for the relay, while the long jump took place and she missed the final three attempts in the long jump and missed a very possible gold medal, by finishing up in third place.
His persisting questionable behaviour, during the championship caused athletes to complain about him soon after they returned to Sri Lanka from the championship. Once he attempted to get in as the Sports Director at the Education Ministry using his political connections. He was defeated ahead of his possible appointment when provincial sports directors of all nine provinces opposed it.
There were several eye brows raised when Weerasinghe was appointed once again as the team manager of the junior team within a year. The junior team is set to face three further international junior championships with the Asian Junior Championship (Japan) and IAAF World Junior Championship (Finland) to be held following South Asian Juniors where better communications will be essential for SL team’s success.
Weerasinghe should be directly held responsible if athletes do not perform as excepted while the junior team is not in good mental conditioning to face an international competition: All the while, when he has been antagonizing juniors and making their lives living hell during the residential training at the athletics hostel at Torrington Square.
