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| Sunday, 23 May 2004 |
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The mess in track and field must be sorted out soon! Straight Talk by Lal Gunasekera Sportsmanship and etiquette should go hand in glove, but these are things of the past and hardly or over adhered to nowadays. Sportsmen and women should strictly follow these conditions to the letter, however great they are. If indiscipline sets in and any person is found guilty of any sort of offence and breaks the rules, they should be punished. No one is indispensable and our sports personalities must realise it. The talk of the town at present is the behaviour of two of Sri Lanka's top athletes - Olympic Games bronze medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe and Sugath Thillekeratne, who were embroiled in controversy at the recent 9th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in Islamabad, Pakistan. Let me take Susanthika's case first. She is a controversial personality by nature and an outspoken one at that. She could be right and she could be wrong, but what she must remember is that as an athlete of world repute, she must learn even now (its never too late) to curb her temper tantrums. There is a time and place to show one's disapproval and even disgust in certain matters. Her frustration, disgust and anger came when Dissanayake from Nikaweratiya was left out from the country's 4x100 metres relay. Here was an athlete who came under her wing and had arrived in Islamabad after clocking 10.76 seconds in the 100 metres. This was his first trip overseas and even runs with spikes provided by Susanthika herself. He has the third best timing in the 100 metres in Sri Lanka and trained very hard to run in the 4x100 metres relay at the SAF Games. His parents were eagerly awaiting to watch their son running on TV. But what happened in the end? Here it is in Susanthika's own words. "An athlete who was not even in the top eight was given to run instead of my athlete who was the third. They said that the four who ran in the trials in Colombo will run in Islamabad too. The day before we arrived in Pakistan, I was told that Dissanayake will run in the 4x100 metres Relay. However, he was dropped and Joy Danushka, who never ran in the trial due to sickness was picked instead. Won't you be angry?" Susanthika also gave an example about USA's Carl Lewis, who had won several gold medals for his country. Before the 1996 Olympic Games, he was down with fever and could not take part in selection trials and due to this fact he was not given the opportunity to take part in that particular Olympics. Sriyani Kulawansa too suffered when she could not participate in the trials for the Asian Championship, and the country lost an opportunity of winning a gold medal. So how can a person like Joy Danushka who did not run at a trial be selected to run in Islamabad? Susanthika had further said: "Why have a Selection Committee at all, when the officials on tour can chop and change a team to suit their whims and fancies? Its true, I lost my temper and shouted at Brigadier Parry Liyanage and he nearly assaulted me. They brought in the first, second, fifth and sixth best for the 4x100 metres relay, but the person who had the third best timing was kept out. I was told that Dissanayake could not hand over the baton properly. The coach of the relay team was Lakshman de Alwis. Didn't he know about this for several months in Colombo, and did he find out about this matter only after arriving in Islamabad? Dissanayake was picked only for the 4x100 metres relay and if he could not handle the baton properly, why was he picked? Was Dissanayake brought to Pakistan to scrape coconuts? "The story is not the baton and Dissanayake's inability to handle it properly. They (the officials who came to Pakistan) all got together and "cut" my athlete to have their own person to run instead. As long as people like this are involved in athletics, will the sport improve? They were taking revenge from me - nothing other than that" said Susanthika. Derwin Perera says that it was he who gave Dissanayake to Susanthika as a "running partner" because she had told him that she needed one. So why should I "cut" someone that I gave to Susanthika? Running the 100 metres is different in running the 4x100 metres relay. In a relay, one must be able to run the bends in a proper manner, the straights, baton change - all this has to be taken into account in picking a relay team. Parry Liyanage had said: "Relay teams were in charge of Lakshman de Alwis and Derwin Perera, but I felt that all coaches must discuss together and select who is to run. It was after discussions that we picked the best four athletes. Dissanayake cannot hand over a baton properly. The following morning, Susanthika, burst into the room. She spoke very loudly and asked us how we picked the relay team. She started scolding me and I said that it was the decision of the coaches and that she has no right to question us in this manner. She said that no person can shut her mouth and started shouting at Derwin Perera. We were all ashamed of ourselves as other guests and watching and listening to this incident. True Susanthika has won a medal at the Olympics, but she has no right to question a decision taken by the coaches. Lakshman de Alwis, the national coach on the other hand said that Dissanayake lacked co-ordination and in addition he cannot hand over or receive the baton properly. He is a new athlete and needs more experience. Dissanayake gets excited when he runs with the other three. The other four who ran in the 4x100 metres relay are experienced athletes. We brought along six for the relay and finally we picked the best four. I have a responsibility as national coach. Even if we win or lose, I take the decisions. That was exactly what transpired in Islamabad and there are inquiries going ahead on both Susanthika Jayasinghe and Sugath Tillekeratne, who is alleged to have abused and even tried to manhandle Dr. (Miss) Daminda Attanayake, who accompanied the Sri Lanka contingent. Will action be taken against Susanthika and Tillekeratne or will some kind of influence be used, and inquiry reports shelved. I leave it to the readers to judge for themselves whether Susanthika Jayasinghe is at fault or not and even Sugath Tillekeratne. Let us see what happens - if anything happens at all. The 4x100 metres relay team won the Silver Medal. |
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