NOC rubbishes 58 officials for Olympics claims

By Harsha Amarasinghe  

National Olympic Committee (NOC) chairman Suresh Subramaniam denied the claims of NOC nominating 58 officials for the Tokyo Olympics set to go ahead in July 2021.

A tweet from a person named ‘Sesiri Pathirane’ has been circulating in social media since May 28 requesting Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa to ‘look in to’ the matter.

“#LKA Olympic Committee has nominated 58 officials to accompany TWO athletes qualified for 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. LKR 22mn requested to cover travel + lodgings. Requesting Hon.@RajapaksaNamal to look into this unethical act by the committee! 

Subramaniam, however, was quick to deny the allegations and told Daily Mirror that the person who posted this has been arrested in Thailand.

“This is a completely false story and we are only allowed to send 15 officials. These kinds of stories don’t really help sports, but I can tell you that this fellow has been arrested in Thailand and the tweet has since been taken down,” Subramaniam told Daily Mirror.

While Daily Mirror is unable to reveal anything regarding the alleged arrest of the man in question, can confirm that the tweet has not been taken down as of 2.30p.m on Sunday.

Subramaniam, who previously had a five-year stint as the President of Sri Lanka Tennis Association meanwhile explained how such a story may have originated.

“The NOC had a vaccination program to which we recommended 59 officials and I think someone must have confused this. I can assure that these 59 were only recommended for this vaccination program, nothing else,” added Subramaniam.

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa in response claimed that ‘Sporting associations & International affiliated bodies operate independently.’   

“Sporting associations & International affiliated bodies operate independently in their decision making processes, however when it comes to Ministry of Sports' approvals & funding we will only prioritize athletes & essential coaching staff that directly impact the athletes wellbeing,” Rajapaksa stated in a tweet