A primary asset from a far flung hamlet

It would have been another busy night at the Bandaranaike International Airport if not for a child wearing a gold medal and crying at a far corner of the terminal. The child was accompanied by her parents who came from Galle by bus.

It was dead at night past 2 a.m. The child was a young athlete who represented Sri Lanka at the Inter-city Athletics Meet held in Singapore in 1995.

After dispersing the gathering who welcomed the Sri Lankan delegation, Sriyani

Dhammika Menike and her parents were stranded among the glistening lights of Bandaranaike Airport while the other members of the delegation were whisked away in their private vehicles to their respective homes in and around Colombo.

However, Sunil Jayaweera, then Director Sports in the Ministry of Education saw the crying child with medals around the neck. He asked "Daughter, why are you crying with medals around your neck, what is the matter?". The hapless parents said that they could not take a bus to Galle at that time. Sunil Jayaweera took Sriyani and her parents home.

The following day Sriyani Dhammika, the only medal winner, went home by bus. Recollecting the incident Sriyani believed if she had been a girl from a Colombo-based school, she would have been accorded a better welcome at the Bandaranaike International Airport. Subsequently Sunil Jayaweera, seeing the brilliant athlete in Sriyani, offered her a scholarship so that she could peruse her studies at any school as a hosteller.

Accordingly she entered Sangamitha College as hosteller. While engageing in rigorous training sessions, she passed the Ordinary Level examination with flying colours. She reminds with gratitude then Principal of Sangamitha College Sadawathi Wijetunga who especially paid attention to Dhammika's progress and even made sure that she got the appropriate diet at the hostel.

She also reminesed with a sense of nostalgia how her teachers helped her when she first took part in international meets. Teachers presented her with a track kit and couple of T-shirts as her parents could not afford them. (Principal Norman de Silva and the staff at Manavila). Sriyani also reme mbers with deep sense of reverence the teachers who assisted her in her journey to success, especially Nama de Silva, teacher in charge of Sports.

Among the international athletic meets she took part were Baku championship held in 1986 in Soviet Russia where Sriyani represented Sri Lanka at the age of 16, Asian Junior Athletic Meet held in Hongkong where she became third in the 800 meters, Junior Asian Games held in Jakarta in Indonesia where Dhammika secured the forth place.

After she sat for her Advanced Level examination in 1990, Dhammika became busy with practicing for SAAF games which was held in 1991. Dhammika won God Medal in 400 meters and 800 meters in addition to securing a silver medal in the relay.

Following her success at the SAAF games, she joined Hatton National Bank (HNB) on the invitation of then Managing Director Riency Wijetilake in 1991. Although she had succeeded in wining number of medals at international sports events, her pressing need at the time was a house in Colombo where she can stay and continue her practice as Sriyani had been staying with her friends.

Then President Premadasa, after watching her performance at the SAAF games, gave Dhammika Menike a house in Samapura Housing scheme right behind the Fire Brigade, facilitating her practice sessions in Sugathadasa stadium and Torrington sports ministry play ground.

Dhammika Menike had the rare privilege of representing Sri Lanka at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992 and she participated in both 800 metres and 1,500 metres events with an impressive timing, the best timing for two events for the last sixteen years.

Sriyani Dhammika is concerned about the present state of sports in Sri Lanka and particularly athletics as no athlete was able to break her record which is attributed to high concentration of resources in and around Colombo and authorities marked reluctant to identify sporting talents dormant in far flung villages. In fact, most of the talented sports personalities are from villages.

Sport Officials are more interested in touring the globe with athletes than developing sports in Sri Lanka. She pointed out that authorities are not interested making use of knowledge and experience of veteran sportsmen and women in order to improve newcomer's performance in the field. Lack of opportunities for middle range runners to participate in international sports events hampers their progress in the field, specially improving their timing.

Dhammika Menike is of the view that a school exclusively for athletes scattered around the country be set up in Colombo where the future sports personalities can be nurtured with a view to preparing them for Olympics. The students for the school can be selected from talented students in sports and the students can be provided with a sound education together with enhancing their skills in the field of sports.

Sriyani believes that sports among other things inculcate noble qualities such as strength of character and humility. She is disappointed with veterans' games when sports men and women participate in them considering the events as shopping sprees on account of finding a sponsor irrespective of their talents.

Reminiscent of the commencement of her career that took her to many sporting arenas including the Olympics, Dhammika states that her talents in athletics was spotted at Manavila Upananda Central College in Galle. Dhammika Menike participated in track and field events at school sports meet.

One event that etched in her mind was open women's hurdles where competitors had to cover about a distance of two kilometres, while running through the fleet of steps. Though she was a thirteen year old girl, she won the event by defeating the senior students. At the sports meet, Kadawas Sathara sports Official D. S. B. Wanigaratne who spotted her talents extended to her a helping hand.

Even though Dhammika had no knowledge of technicalities of sports she was encouraged by the prophetic remarks of the sports officer who predicted that she would become a talented athlete. Those days were hard time for Dhammika as her parents were not permanent employees. However, she did not miss her studies maintaining position one in her class up to grade 7 and was always among the first in aggregate marks.

It was at this stage, on the insistence of D. S. B. Wanigaratne she applied for the competition held at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium to select athletes to represent Sri Lanka at Inter-city Athlete Meet held in Singapore.

At the competition, she observed that she was the only athlete who was barefoot while others dressed in sports suits with spikes. Despite her constraints, Dhammika won all three events; 800 meters, 1,500 meters and 300 meters, events with a lead. During the practice sessions prior to the meet, Dhammika showed an impressive timing and was sure of a god medal. The Sri Lankan team consisted of ten athletes including two women athletes.

At the Singapore meet, Sriyani won the Gold medal creating a Singapore record at the age of 15 in 3,000 meters. By then she was not used to spikes and she ran barefoot, injuring her foot. Due to the injuries, Dhammika became third in the 1,500 meters event. This was an Asian athletic meet where over 24 nations participated in track and field events.

It is high time that authorities should take steps to tap dormant talent in far flung hamlets and that the incident such as a lonely girl crying at the BIA should not recur.

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