Athletics left out , NOCSL Confirms Only 8 for Olympics

The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) was under fire in the social media over the last weekend, as several tweets/posts claimed they are trying to send 58 officials for the Olympic Games while only two athletes have qualified. This clarification cleared the air about the number of officials, but created another puzzle as to the criteria used to select only 8 athletes while there is still a month to go for the deadline, which is 29 June.

The athletes, especially, feel cheated since one athlete is within touching distance of qualifying, while a few others are on the verge of breaking through the qualification barrier before the deadline. 3000m Steeplechase runner Nilani Rathnayaka is 33rd in the Olympic Ranking where 45 athletes will be finalized after the deadline. 100m runner Yupun Abeykoon is 58th while 56 will be selected for the Olympics.

He is just two slots (1 point) away from qualifying. 800m runners Nimali Liyanarachchi and Dilshi Kumarasinghe, too, are within touching distance, and Sri Lanka Athletics has arranged for them to participate at the Kazakhstan Open this month to enable them to garner the required ranking points to make the cut.

400m runner Nadeesha Ramanayaka, too, is within touching distance and set to tour Kazakhstan with the other athletes. High jumper Ushan Thiwanka (US based) is joint World No.7 this year and on the verge of qualification. He will compete in US this weekend and set to tour Kazakhstan too. In the worst-case scenario, if none of the athletes qualify, Sri Lanka will at least receive a wild card.

Hence, NOCSL jumping the gun and claiming only 8 athletes will go to the Olympics has demotivated the athletes, who are working hard towards meeting the qualification standards, while the public is being misinformed.

While it is accepted NOCSL contributes towards development of athletics by providing athletes with several scholarship such as Olympic Solidarity scholarship for Nilani Rathnayaka, two scholarships for jumpers Sarangi Silva and Sreshan Dhananaya in Qatar, and several other local scholarships, this kind of communiqué does more damage to the athletes mentally than all of their other efforts.

NOCSL clearly states they are sending only 15 officials for the Games. “We clearly stated in our communiqué that the contingent would be eight athletes and fifteen officials in number, and it was the guideline set forth by the IOC. The total budget of Rs.22M is correct. NOC contributes Rs.9.2M or 41.4% of the Budget and Ministry’s contribution is 58.6%, of which approx. 43% consists of costs related to COVID expenses, airfare and accommodation cost for 6 journalists and VIP accommodation amounting to Rs.5.7M. Also, there is provision for transportation of the horse (equestrian) amounting to Rs.1M and another Rs.400, 000/- for transport of ammunition etc.

This is the total commitment for the Tokyo 2020 trip,” stated Secretary General of NOCSL Maxwell de Silva in a press release. In an earlier press release NOCSL claimed the eight athletes comprise show jumper Mathilda Karlsson, Gymnast Milka Gehani de Silva who receive continental quotas, Shooter Tehani Egodawela (who received a Tripartite invitation), two wild card slots allocated for swimming and two more universality places for either Judo/Wrestling/Badminton or Weightlifting.