Manjula’s last show denies by NSF ruling

Olympian Manjula Kumara Wijesekara, High Jump champion of Sri Lanka throughout the past two decades, wanted his swansong to be at the National Sports Festival (NSF) in Badulla.

But a new ruling introduced by the Department of Sports Development has denied this opportunity for the 11-time NSF champion, despite an appeal made by Southern Province to include him in their team.

Wijesekara has personally appealed to the Director of Sports of the Department of Sports Development, IP Wijerathne, and the Director General of the Department of Sports Development Dammika Muthugala, without success.

Wijesekara who last competed in the NSF 2018, where he won the Gold medal and best athlete title, did not compete in Sri Lanka this year as he is following a diploma in Australia at present, but he did leap 2.15m during a competition in Australia and requested the authorities to consider that performance and grant him entry to compete at the NSF.

Even at the Athletics World Championship, the reigning champion of any event gets a direct entry into the next edition championship despite meeting qualification standards, so the inclusion of Wijesekara, who has been the champion at the NSF for nine consecutive years, shouldn’t have been a problem, but another set of bizarre rules set by the Department of Sports Development has ruled him out of the competition. According to the new rule an athlete has to showcase his performance by competing in Sri Lanka or overseas representing Sri Lanka in order to get direct entry to NSF.

“I made the request which is the only thing I can do. It’s very sad about the outcome,” said Wijesekara, who said he is giving up his competitive career.

“I won’t be competing in Sri Lanka again. Maybe I will compete in Australia for my satisfaction, but at my age this will be the end of my professional athletics career,” said Wijesekara.

“I have always been helpful towards Sri Lankan athletes and will continue to help and guide them in the future too,” said Wijesekara.

Manjula, the 2004 Athens Olympian, is the Sri Lankan record holder in the high jump with a leap of 2.27m. He has also won the Asian Championship Gold medal twice, South Asian Gold medals thrice and represented Sri Lanka at the World Championship, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games during a career which spanned two decades.

This is not the first time rulings of this nature by the Department of Sports Development made a mockery of the NSF. Last year Charith Kapukotuwa, who won both the Discus Throw and Shot Put, was later disqualified and denied his Gold medal on technical grounds, stating his entry was illegal. Also, two cross country champions Nilani Rathnayaka and RMS Pushpakumara, were denied the chance to represent their Provinces as they could not make the deadline to register before the competition date as they were travelling from Bhutan to Sri Lanka after winning medals at the South Asian Cross Country Championship.