President of the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) Major General Palitha Fernando blamed poor coaching standards and lack of dedication from athletes for Sri Lanka’s debacle at the 16th Asian Games concluded in Guangzhou last night. He said Sri Lanka must make use of foreign expertise and the latest training techniques to groom the country’s national poolists, adding that the country is not starved of talent.
“There is enough talent in the country but all what we need is a better and advanced coaching system to make use of those uncut gems,” Major General Fernando told the Observer Online today.
He said most of the present day coaches in Sri Lanka are not geared to face modern challenges and have not upgraded their knowledge in keeping with advancing techniques. “That is where we went wrong. We must immediately get down a few coaching experts to train our top coaches so that then could update their knowledge. In return, these local coaches could share that with our top athletes,” he said.
Asked for his views on Sri Lanka athletic team’s performance at Guangzhou Games, Fernando said he is not satisfied with the outcome, though the athletes have comparatively done better than all other sports. “We competed only in eight disciplines and they figured in six finals. There is no point in giving excuse but to take a stock of what went wrong and prepare for the future,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Fernando said athletes such as Shehan Ambepitiya and Chaminda Wijekoon have emerged from junior development programs conducted by the AASL. “We are ready to take the challenge but we need the support of the Sports Ministry,” he said.