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your say Asking for fair treatment for swimmers I refer to your article "Good Swimmers Drown in Official Silence" and wish to commend you on an excellent and timely piece of writing. As a parent of a swimmer, I very much hope that my child will receive fair treatment in future and will not be a victim to favouritism as obviously happened in the selection of swimmers for the Asian Games. Our swimmers are not world class by any means - but it was a shock to learn that even the best did not go. For instance Radisha Daluwatte who came third in the 100m free style will be representing us in this event. What could be worse than a sub-standard swimmer taking part in an event when she was beaten in it at the last NAASU games? She came last in Bangkok by the way. I have a further question. How dare the Chairman of NAASU, Mr. Henry Perera, and the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Mr. Tony Jayawardene, refuse to comment? If they cannot give all of us a good explanation for their strange conduct they should resign. Otherwise they must take the blame for these unfair choices. Just a few weeks ago, a Principal of a Colombo school rang Mr. Tony Jayawardene to ask on what basis selections were being since there had been no official trials. Mr. Jayawardene's rudeness to her had to be heard to be believed. Bellowing mightily he claimed that the said principal was trying to influence him (something she had not the least intention of doing) not only declined to give her an answer but was so offensive she had to eventually ring off. Concerned parents, on whose behalf she was ringing, now know why Mr. Jayawardene was so unwilling to enter into a dialogue. Obviously plans to break every sporting law of swimming were already afoot and he was being evasive Mr. Jayawardene has absolutely no business refusing to comment on his conduct. Both he and Mr. Henry Perera should be forced to do so or else they should not hold office. If these two gentlemen were ordered to act thus wrongly by some higher authority then they should name the perpetrator of that dastardly wrong doing and then resign like gentlemen. They cannot continue to hold office and "Refuse to comment." Parents and coaches are not going to let this matter drop. They are far too realistic to expect the Minister of Sport to actually do anything- but at least they intend to make these unsportsmanlike selectors and chairpeople feel as embarrassed as possible. I understand that Newspapers in Bangkok have highlighted this swimming fiasco- further embarrassing this country. So please - may we have an explanation? An angry and frustrated parent Outstation clubs to benefit from cricket
gear It is unfortunate that cricket at the grassroots level, in the outstations, is not developed as it should be or one would like to be in. Not that there are no cricket clubs in the outstations. In fact there are plenty, what is lacking is proper playing facilities, paucity of funds. Most clubs in outstations are running on self-help basis. Some are lucky to have patrons and supporters who, with good connections, manage to generate some funds to keep these clubs a live and kicking. But generally the picture is a gloomy one. Over here in the hills Kandy Cricket Club, one of the oldest clubs of the game, will be benefitted with cricket gear, thanks to the former president of the Board of Control Upali Dharmadasa who is also one of the vice patrons of this club,who has come forward to help this club. A fine gesture by this cricket promoter. This club which is run on self-help basis, has lot of commitment. They have to look after their players, if not there are clubs to attractthem. They have to go out of Kandy on several ocassions for their matches. For this they need a lot of money.This they get thanks to the committee members, who are keeping the club alive and kicking. Club cricket is the backbone and nursery of cricket. It is from these clubs that talent is found and later groomed for national teams. That is why club cricket should be given its due status and duly patronised so that budding talent gets a chance to groom and serve the country. Vanik provides pole vault champion opportunity for Asian Games gold Sri Lanka's national pole vault champion Ruwan Pradeep Perera has been provided with a new pole to bolster his chances of winning the gold medal at the on-going Asian Games in Bangkok, by his sponsor Vanik Incorporation Ltd. The new pole which is 4.6 meters in length will enable Perera to clear a height of 5.2 meters, which could result in Sri Lanka securing a medal in this event, a company spokesman said. Vanik has sponsored the athlete since 1997 and provided him with an allowance for food, coaching and sports equipment. A pole, which costs Rs. 50,000 can only be used for 100 jumps before it loses its tension, diminishing its performance, Perera said. Ruwan Pradeep Perera holds the South Asian record 4.8 meters in pole vault and has broken the Sri Lanka record 22 times in his career. |
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