Winning medals is responsibility of sports bodies and coaches - NOCSL

By Susil Premalal

Commonwealth Games Sports Association (Sri Lanka) President and the Head of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) Suresh Subramaniam said that all Sports Associations (SA) and coaches should be responsible for Sri Lankan athletes’ performances at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.   
“The credit of winning medals and losing in their events will be something the coaches of the respective SA’s should take up directly,” Subramaniam told.   

A total 110 sportsmen and sportswomen representing 14 SA’s in addition to 51 coaches and officials have qualified to compete at the Commonwealth Games, which will be held from July 28 to August 8.   

Earlier, several SA’s had pledged to win medals at the Commonwealth Games when they had a meeting with the former Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa in 2021.   
However, Subramaniam said that so far none of these SA’s had officially put forward their initial plans and the methodology to win medals for the country.   

Subramaniam also revealed that several promising athletes were awarded with overseas scholarships in Japan, Slovakia, Australia, Italy Hungary and India through the courtesy of the NOCSL targeting the Commonwealth Games.   

However, he blamed Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) for the non-participation of Ushan Thivanka, a potential medalist for the Commonwealth Games and who is currently training in the US in the high jump event.   

“Thivanka personally called me and said that his Visa would expire if he travelled to England for the Commonwealth Games and that he will not be able to return to the US once again,” Subramaniam added.