Tehani shooting through barriers

Sri Lanka’s solitary shooter at Tokyo 2020 may have had less than ideal preparation as she takes aim at arguably the most important target of her life, but Tehani Egodawela is hoping to make the best out of a rough situation.

Egodawela, ranked 223 in the world in the 10m Air Rifle event, was one of the six Sri Lankan athletes given a place at the Olympics through the tripartite quota system – a decision made with the corroboration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Association of National Olympics Committees and the International Federation of the respective sport.

A first time Olympian, Egodawela told the Daily Mirror, “I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of the Olympic team and I am looking forward to making the most out of it.”

It is an enthusiasm she hasn’t allowed to dampen despite the series of tough breaks she has had to endure.

Firstly, the problem that has perhaps hindered a majority, if not all, Olympic athletes – the lack of proper preparation.

“We haven’t participated in any international competitions since the South Asian Games in 2019, and since then practices have been stop-start,” she said.

Egodawela, who is attached to the Sri Lanka Navy, was stationed in Welisara at the time it was shut down after it became a breeding ground for Covid-19 cases, making the base’s shooting range off limits for her.

A lack of consistent practice since has dogged her preparations and left her underprepared for sports’ most prestigious event, but Egodawela has not unloaded her gun nor taken her eyes off the target.

“I have been able to consistently practice for only a month and a half,” Egodawela said, adding, “I was in quarantine, after returning to the Navy camp in Welisara when I found out I had qualified.”

Even under these less than ideal circumstances, she has set herself a goal to aspire to at the games.

“I want to reach my personal best, and national record, of 623.3 points at the games, but it will be difficult having had proper practice for only a month and a half,” she said.

Then there was another setback, when attempts to accredit her coach Master Chief Petty Officer (Retired) UM Premalal for the games failed. Travelling with her instead, will be the General Secretary of the National Shooting Sports Federation (NSSF) Pradeep Edirisinghe, in the capacity of Team Manager.

“I would really have liked to take my coach with me, but I was told due to the restrictions in Tokyo, he may not be able to travel with me. The NOC President called and reassured me that they would do what they could to include my coach, but unfortunately their request was refused,” Egodawela said.

But she will still be able to call on his expertise during her event, on the first day of official Olympic competition on July 24.

“Not having him with me in Tokyo is a big loss, but he has promised me that he will connect with me virtually through the manager accompanying me and try to help me as much as possible.”

Premalal, an accomplished former national shooter, reiterated the impact that the pandemic has had on Egodawela, adding the lack of international exposure had been a set back for her.

“I’ve done the best I can do to prepare Tehani for the Olympics,” her coach of nine years said. “When we couldn’t train together, I used to connect with her virtually but it’s not as effective as training in person.”

“International exposure is important for a shooter to develop, but because of Covid-19 we could not benefit from that. We were scheduled to take part in a two-month training programme in India, but when the pandemic hit we had to cancel those plans.”

“Shooting is a sport that relies on more than just skill – there needs to be a fine balance between technique, tactic and practice. Shooters need to carry a weight of 5kg for around an hour and half so they need to have endurance while also being mentally strong to bounce back when things are not going their way.”

Efforts were made by the Department of Sports Development to send Premalal with the shooter, even at their own expense, but the IOC was firm in not allowing more people to be added to Sri Lanka’s contingent.

The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) had reached out to the NOC Accreditation Manager of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Lorena Villanova to gauge the possibility of sending Premalal in addition to the Manager, but the games’ organiser was firm in its rebuttal.

“...You donʼt have enough quota according with your current ETS. For Tokyo 2020, following the playbook, because of the pandemic IOC removed the guests and advised strictly that only officials who are essential to athletes performance should be part of the NOC delegation coming to the Games. With that in mind, is not just late, but also not suggested to add more staff into your NOC delegation,” the Accreditation Manager replied in her correspondence.

“Having a coach there most certainly would have helped, because sometimes shooters need advice on what kind of adjustments to make while they compete, but I will do what I can to help from here,” Premalal added.