Asian Youth Games 2017 on track in Hambantota

By Shirajiv Sirimane

Until such time Sri Lanka made a strong bid to host the South Asian Federation Games in 1991, constructing huge stadiums (other than the Sugathadasa Stadium) were not considered a necessity.

After the successful bid the Sugathadasa Stadium was virtually rebuilt with an indoor facility and a swimming pool. Several other sports infrastructure too was added and since then until the past five years no major stadiums were built to cater to sports played by the masses.

When President Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed to head the Amateur Athletic Association more than a decade ago he got a first hand glimpse of the sporting arena giving a sketch as to what improvements should come in the future.

When he was appointed President he put this thought in to deed and for the first time in the history of sports a mega infrastructure development took place all over Sri Lanka.

Shortlisted

Leading the Hambantota bid in St Kitts Namal Rajapaksa MP with CGF chief executive Mike Hooper

Promoting Sri Lanka as a tourist destination in St Kitts

These modern stadiums all round the country enabled Sri Lanka host major international events including the Cricket world cup and the nation was also shortlisted to host the Commonwealth Games considered the fourth biggest sporting event in the world along with Gold Coast Australia.

Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Gold Coast's Mark Stockwell

Many analysts say that it was global politics that took away the opportunity for Sri Lanka to host the Commonwealth Games and not the lack of infrastructure and planning.

This writer was in St. Kitts along with the Editor-in-Chief of Sunday Observer and Associate Editor, Sports, Daily News, Dinesh Weerawansa and other sports media and we saw how the Western countries put pressure on smaller countries to vote against Sri Lanka.

Some Asian countries were promised international stadiums, training centres built free of charge if they had voted against Sri Lanka and these smaller countries fell for this western power. And this was how 'Hambantota Commonwealth bid' was robbed from Sri Lanka.

On our way back at the St. Kitts airport before boarding the SriLankan airline charter flight for a 22 hour journey, MP Namal Rajapaksa spoke to the depleted Sri Lanka contingent and promised he would bring an international sporting event to Hambantota.

True to his words young Namal rose to the occasion, and Hambantota this time was selected to host the Youth Asian Games one of the top ten sporting events in the world.

However, the international 'ring' that is working against Sri Lanka is once again looking to disrupt this historical event and are now trying to paint a picture that Hambantota and Sri Lanka are not ready to host this event.

It was the Governor Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal that had the most difficult task to set the ground clear being put in charge to raise funds and coordinate all forces.

Professionalism

It was due to his sheer ability and the way he successfully handled the Commonwealth bidding process, the Governor was once again appointed to shoulder this task this time as well which has helped the sporting administrators get more professionalism to emerge as a winner at Hambantota Youth Asian Games.

The Sunday Observer spoke to the Governor on some questions asked by the media and public on hosting Asian Youth Games.

Q: Sri Lanka has been given 'red notice' for hosting the Asian Youth Games. Is Sri Lanka ready for this and what are the new venues that have come up?

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Diyagama, Homagama.

Jayatillike stadium kandy

A: Sri Lanka has been awarded the opportunity of hosting the Asian Youth Games in 2017. Therefore, the Organising Committee appointed by the Government is taking the necessary measures to have the infrastructure completed by 2016.

A considerable amount of work has to be done towards this end, since Sri Lanka has been somewhat slow in starting off. However, over the past four months, considerable planning and coordination has taken place and the project is now reasonably on track. Several new venues have been planned for the different sports, and the high level Organising Committee is making every endeavour to deliver a successful Games by 2017.

Q: Despite heading an unsuccessful campaign to bid for the Commonwealth Games you have once again been put to a key position in the Asian Youth Games in Sri Lanka. Why do you get involved in sports events?

A: The bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018 in Hambantota was well-planned and organised, and I think it was very well received by the member countries and the world. However, it was a contest between two cities, with Gold Coast of Australia being a city with extensive Sports facilities, while Hambantota of Sri Lanka was identified as an up coming city where many new facilities had to be constructed. In that context, some countries took the safer option of supporting Gold Coast, but even so, about 27 out of 70 countries voted for Hambantota, which shows that the Hambantota Bid was very well received!

Organising a massive international sports event is not only a sporting event as some may think, perhaps because that is what a person would see over the few days that the Games are being held. But, behind the scenes, a massive amount of work has to take place over a long period of time to ensure that the Games are delivered successfully.

Venues

Some of these connected activities consist of construction of the venues, security, accommodation, transport, technology, media operations, customs and immigration formalities, accreditation, volunteers, publicity, entertainment, medical, environment, ensuring the legacy and sustainability of the capital outlay, finance marketing, and communications. So, if someone thinks that an Athletics competition is only about athletes running on a track, and that an Athletics tournament can be simply organised by only a former Athlete, it shows that they do not appreciate the wide background work needed in relation to the organising of such events.

To organise the Asian Youth Games 2017, the Government has established a high level committee comprising six Ministry Secretaries, the three Service Commanders, the IGP, NOC Chiefs, other high ranking public and private sector officials, Architects and other specialised persons.

Sports personalities

It is a multi-disciplinary Organising Committee. It is being chaired jointly by the Secretary to the President and the Governor of the Central Bank. Notwithstanding our busy schedules, both the Secretary to the President and myself, devote time and energy towards this project because it is a national project which the country is keen to deliver successfully.

Having many diverse groups involved in the Organisation process makes it quite challenging to coordinate, and dealing with the different sports personalities having various views is also not very easy. That is why, if the Government did not get involved, this project would have been a non-starter without a cohesive plan, without funds, without authority and without the organising capability to carry through a project of this magnitude.

Q: What would be the government's commitment to host the games?

A: The composition of the Organising Committee itself is a clear confirmation of the high level of commitment of the Government to deliver a successful Asian Youth Games. By doing so, the Government has committed the time and energy of its topmost officials as well as the resources at its disposal. We have already spent a great deal of time to get the games organisation on track, and while we encounter issues as we go along, we have taken steps to deal with such matters, in the best way possible. Whatever may be said, there would have been no chance of hosting any Games if the Government did not have a commitment. We have already given our assurances to the Olympic Council of Asia and we are confident that the final delivery would be effective and outstanding.

Recently, the Government successfully organised the CHOGM Summit even whilst many were saying that it will be a failure. All events and activities connected to CHOGM were organised meticulously and the outcome confirmed the skills of our organising teams. In organising the Asian Youth Games too, we would borrow some expertise from those teams as well, and therefore we can confidently state that a successful Games could be held in 2017.

Q: What would be the private sector commitment to host the games?

A: Already, many private sector top personalities have supported the effort by contributing their skills in the management towards these Games, and many are actively involved in various sub-committees set up for such activities.

We are thankful to them for participating in this manner in this important venture.

Q: How would Sri Lanka finally gain from an event of this nature?

A: Sri Lanka's ability to hold international events attract goodwill and the benefits that are derived from such an outcome has been grossly under-estimated in our country. A vast amount of publicity is also generated when a country hosts an international event, and Sri Lanka will definitely benefit by such positive publicity too. We are also planning the Games carefully, so that our financial commitment would be modest, and as a result of such meticulous planning, we are confident that we could avoid cost over-runs which sometimes plague other international events.

Overall, we would also benefit by the upgrade of our talent pool, since there would be special efforts made for our youth to compete successfully and win medals at these international events. We have many talented young people and they must be given more and more opportunities to perform at international levels. Needless to say, if we host a Games of this nature on our soil, the current generation of youth would be inspired and that would be a massive benefit that we would derive for our country now, and for the future. At the same time, the Games would serve to re-position and re-brand the nation and its economy in the post-conflict era.

Q: What can a middle income country like Sri Lanka gain in hosting these games?

A: Mature and advanced nations and economies which have already organised Games would add little as incremental benefits when they host international events. Nevertheless, emerging countries benefit a great deal by the incremental benefits that accrue when hosting events of this nature. Emerging countries also have the advantage of showcasing themselves, while they could move from being low-middle income countries, to high middle income countries. Everyone wants to do better, and Sri Lanka must also develop the inclination and the ability to forge ahead on a continuous basis, and improve its own conditions. That would receive a substantial boost as a result of organising these types of Games, and that is why all Sri Lankans, and particularly sports bodies, should take every effort to support these Games at every turn.

Q: Why was Hambantota picked as the host venue over Colombo which has a large number of international venues?

A: Hambantota will be the main city for the Games, but we have also requested the Olympic Council of Asia to allow us to organise about five events in Colombo. The compilation of the Sports that we have offered is as follows:

In Hambantota: Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Rugby 7s, Weight Lifting, Taekwondo or Judo, Badminton, Handball, Tennis, Table Tennis, Shooting, Beach Volleyball, 3/3 Basketball. In Colombo: Athletics, Aquatic including Diving, Cricket 20/20, Sailing or Rowing, Soccer.

We have also offered to stage Kabaddi to be held in the Eastern Province, which would be a great boost to the country if the Olympic Council of Asia agrees to it.

The idea of having certain events in Colombo was discussed by us when the Vice President of Olympic Council of Asia was here in March this year, and we hope that could be firmed up so that the construction costs could be kept to modest levels. These are the types of innovative matters that we have thought of, to deliver a successful and economic Games, and I think both parties will benefit, if we follow that path. The fact that the Colombo/Matara Highway would enable easy travel between the two cities, Colombo and Hambantota, as well as the new airport in Hambantota, would provide convenient access and connectivity to our overseas visitors. Further, the major construction work in Hambantota taking place now, will facilitate the accommodation in Hambantota, and that would be a permanent legacy that we leave for the city of Hambantota and the country.

Q: Several key sports bodies involved in hosting the games are at logger heads and would it affect the organising?

A: Certain sports bodies and officials being at loggerheads and working at cross purposes as you put it, is certainly something unfortunate and disappointing. We have seen the disagreements between officials of certain sports bodies and/or disagreements between sports bodies themselves, leading to personal agendas over-riding what is required, or what is best for a national effort in the country's interest. That situation is certainly not helpful, and it makes it difficult to arrive at a reasonable consensus on certain issues. Hopefully, this situation could be tackled with a constant dialogue, and we hope that in time to come, there would be a greater amount of unification which would lead to a more effective and pleasant organising of the Games.

Q: Why can't this development go in to provide infrastructure for rural areas?

A: I think everyone knows that this Government has consistently invested a massive amount of resources to develop the infrastructure in rural areas over the past eight years. The construction of roads, irrigation tanks, canals and improvements to villages etc. have been wide spread, and such development has taken place right across the country. While all that is being done in rural areas, we must also appreciate that the country needs development in other sectors as well. Branding the country, developing the sports infrastructure and developing the abilities or our youth to compete internationally are also vital components in the progress of a nation, and it is necessary for the leaders to balance all these competing requirements.