SLA aims for five medals at Asian Games

By Susil Premalal   
Five medals can be expected in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games going by Sri Lanka’s performance at the 25th Asian Athletic Championship 2023 where decades old records were broken Sri Lanka Athletic (SLA) General Secretary Saman Kumara Gunawardena told the Daily Mirror yesterday. 
The Hangzhou Asian Games are scheduled to be held in China from September 23 to August 8. 
A 16-member athletics squad has been nominated by SLA for the Games as per the request of the National Olympic Committee (NOCSL). 
Eleven of the 13 athletes participated in the Asian Athletic Championship and Sri Lanka managed to win eight medals with two Championship record and five Sri Lanka record. 
Due to the economic situation in the country, the Sri Lanka Athletics team had to participate in the Bangkok tour without any financial support from the Ministry of Sports and SLA had to spend 3.7 million rupees for that.  In addition to this, the SLA General Secretary said that the nutrition provided by the Ministry of Sports to the national pool athletes are at a very minimal level and that some of the athletes have received midday meals from a Television Corporation canteen. 

SLA says that the Sri Lankan athletes who went to the Asian Championship arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday (17) night. 
Meanwhile, SLA has requested the NOCSL to include the 4x400m Women’s Relay team in the Sri Lanka athletics squad for the Asian Games. 
NOCSL has recommended to SLA to field an athletic team of 16 athletes for the Asian Games, which does not include the 4x400m women’s team. 
However, in the recently held Asian Athletic Championship the Sri Lanka 4x400m women’s team won the Silver medal. 
SLA says that if only two new women athletes are included Sri Lanka would be able to participate in the 4x400m women’s relay at the Asian Games.