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Susanthika’s pull out rocks Lankan
camp Bangkok, Dec. 15 — Susanthika Jayasinghe’s eleventh hour pull out from the Sri Lankan contingent had a tremendous impact on the team, as their much looked forward to Medal, from the women’s 4x100m did not come their way yesterday. Thanks to this withdrawal the Lankan team got the last place which incidentally is their worst Track performance in the Games so far. The local coaches had planned to run their Relay with Susanthika being given the honour to run the last lap. The Coaches and the athletes anticipating Susanthika’s presence had several dummy runs. But the last minute pull out by Susanthika foiled all battle plans by the Lankan’s and they had to bite a humble pie at the last place. Sri Lanka’s first women Gold medallist from the Asian Games, Dharsha, ran the first lap and handed over the baton to the Lankan skipper Sriyani Kulawansa with a clear 7 meter lead. Sriyani too ran a good race, but by then the Chinses had had narrowed the gaps and when Nimmi Soyza collected the baton the Chinese was in front. Both these new comers Nimmi and Pradeepa Herath running the last two laps did not have the superior fire-power of Susanthika to run for a medal. Head Coach Derwin Perera said that they could not let either Dharsha or Sriyani to run the last two laps since there was no time for the duo to practice in those places. The agony of the Lankan athletes spread to the Field events as well, with Pole Vaulter Ruwan Perera failing to clear the Qualifying mark of 4.60 Meter. Ruwan holds the Sri Lankan record which he improved on nearly 10 occasions at 4.80 meters. It is very surprising that he could not come near that mark. "It is true that I have gone over the 4.80 meter mark in Sri Lanka. But this is completely a different set up," he said. "Any way this experience is very valuable for my future," added this Jumper who faced only his second major international event yesterday. The only silver lining of the day from the Athletic events was recorded when 400m Hurdler Harijan Ratnayake qualified to compete in the finals tomorrow. He was placed fourth in the first semifinal with a time of 51.41 seconds. With six runners finishing the two semi finals under his timing it is highly unlikely that this new comer would run for a medal tomorrow, after today’s rest day for athletics. Country Second Both Sri Lankan and foreign officials and the Media are of the opinion that Susanthika is no longer putting the country first "She is running for her personal glory and does not care a dam about the country." Was the idea doing the rounds in Bangkok. Sports observers say that Susanthika should have run for in the sprint final and the so-called muscle pull was not some thing very serious. "I know that many international athletes run with these minor injuries, win medals and go home without any after effects," pointed out one Sri Lankan Doctor. "If she at least ran in the Relay, Sri Lanka would not have suffered this humiliating defeat," a Coach said. "The Island" was also made to understand that team doctors were ready to give interviews to the effect that she ran the race nursing a temperature in case she did not win the Gold. "We were doing this because we did not want to disgrace a World Games Silver Medallists. But she simply was stubborn and never thought about the country." Another view doing the rounds is that Susanthika is too proud to be satisfied with any thing other than a Gold. "What she should have done was tell the foreign media that she is competing in an international event after 16 months and ask the media to be patient. But her big mouth said she aimed for two gold’s with new records. But the record breaking timing of Li put her off and then she came out with this lame excuse" Meanwhile a ray of hope has come Sri Lanka way with Dharsha deciding to run in the 200m event tomorrow. Dharsha won a Bronze from this event from the last Asian Game. Sugath Tilakaratne too would compete in this event. Kabaddi taste defeat As expected the World Champions Indian Kabaddi team shattered Sri Lanka’s unblemished record when they beat the islanders 73/13. The Lankan team came out with a defensive plan resting three of their key players in a bid to avoid injury and give them a well-earned rest. In their next game the Lankan team suffered their second successive defeat when Pakistan defeated them 57 15. "Earlier we thought of going all out to beat the Indians. But when we studied the results of the other teams we found out that we are now in line for a Bronze medal. So we played cool," said team Coach D. Prathapasinghe. "As for the Pakistan game, the defeat does not take away our medal hopes. We will go flat out against the Bangladesh team today," he said. The Sri Lankan Cuesists of S. M. Sharwadi and K. H. Sirisoma will be seen in action today. The Rugby semi finals too will be worked off today with Sri Lanka taking on Japan and Korea playing Taipei, Japan and Korea are expected to scrum down for the grand finals on the 18th while Taipei and Lanka battle it out for the bronze earlier in the day. Parents explain Meanwhile a section of the parents of the Sri Lankan swimmers met this correspondent and wanted their side of the story published. They explained that their children’s humiliating defeats at the ASIAD was not due to a fault of them. The National Amateur Aquatic Sports Union (NAASU) had never informed the swimmers in advance that they were going to represent the country at the games. There had not been any advanced planning nor serious training for these swimmers. It was also disclosed that the NAASU had never informed the parents of the qualifying standards for the Asian Games. These parents who wished to be anonymous for obvious reasons also pointed out that the services of the foreign coach, who was in Sri Lanka, was not exploited by the authorities. It was also pointed out that the teams unlike the athletes were never given any nourishment. They recalled with gratitude that they did receive vitamins when they swam for the Asia Pacific Age Group meet during the earlier regime. They stressed the point that at that time the sport did not have a paramount sponsor unlike the present time. Another point the parent said was they need tough foreign exposure to sharpen their international careers. "How many Olympics and International events did Deepika Chanmugam and Jullian Bolling faced before they won medals at the SAF? How many times did this duo come empty handed?" they asked. "This pair won medals when they were in their mid twenties and when our children reach that age they too will win medals," they said. One other point raised by them was the Media Criticism, which they called was too harsh. "The Swimmers were mentally down when they read the news items in Colombo. You must remember that they are only school children," they said. Susanthika says not afraid of Chinese COLOMBO, Dec 15 (Reuters) — Sri Lankan sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe on Tuesday denounced criticism that she pulled out of the Asian Games because of fears about losing to a Chinese rival. Jayasinghe insisted the only reason she pulled out of the Games in Bangkok was because of injury. "Everybody seems to think I was afraid of the Chinese runner. I am a person who has won world events. People should not demean me by thinking I am afraid to run in an Asian event," Jayasinghe told Reuters in an interview after returning from Bangkok. "I was just not able to run. Only I know my health condition, no one else can talk for me and I did not feel well enough to run," she said. Jayasinghe said she withdrew from the 100 and 200 metres events on Monday due to a hamstring injury. She had earlier qualified second fastest in the 100 metres preliminaries on Sunday clocking a respectable 11.30 seconds, but was left trailing behind Li Xuemei of China on 10.99. Li, the Asian record holder over both sprint distances, won Monday’s final and is the hot favourite to take the 200 metres. "After running the heats I couldn’t even stand up properly. I started bleeding from my nose and felt very sick," Jayasinghe said. "Even if she (Li) ran 10.60 I could have beaten it. The Chinese were nowhere when I won the silver at the World Championships," she said. Sri Lankan sports officials in Bangkok have said they were unhappy with Jayasinghe’s withdrawal. "We feel she should have run for the country to win some medals," one official said. The state-owned Daily News said Damayanthi Darsha, who won the gold in the women’s 400 metres, had taken over from Jayasinghe as Sri Lanka’s new sprint queen. Jayasinghe became Sri Lanka’s most successful athlete when she won the silver in the 200 metres event in the 1997 world championships in Athens. The sprinter said she had lacked continuous training this year after being dogged by a drugs scandal. "I didn’t want to injure myself further by running at the Games and then having another year of poor training. My main aim now is to train well and get a gold at the World Championships next year," she said. Jayasinghe tested positive for the steroid Nandrolone in April but had her ban lifted by Sri Lankan athletics officials. She is still waiting for a final decision on her case from the International Amateur Athletic Federation. COMMENT Sri Lanka’s flamboyant sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe seems to court controversy be it on or off the track. The latest saga in her chequered career was her failure to start in the 100 metres final at the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok. Her non-participation in the much hyped contest was perhaps the biggest anti-climax at the Games where she was the star attraction for a variety of reasons. Not least of them because she was under a drugs cloud and was determined to prove her innocence to the world that she would not just win the coveted sprint double, but do it in record time. Such was her braggadacio that she dismissed the challenge from her Chinese rival on the eve of the event by proclaiming that she was the best. So much so that it was billed as a personal duel between Susanthika and Li Xuemei. But unlike British boxer Prince Nasem Hamed who used to predict beforehand in which round his opponent would fall, Susanthika fought shy of saying the time she would return. However the psychological warfare she unleashed fizzled out after she returned the second best time in the 100 metres heats. She pulled out of the final citing a hamstring injury, which overshadowed Sri Lanka’s hour of glory when Damayanthi Darsha and Sugath Tillekeratne won a double in the 400 metres. The question that begs to be asked is whether Susanthika cried out because of a career threatening injury or because of personal pride. According to reports several officials had pleaded with her to participate in the event instead of causing embarassment to the country by a no-show. Her terse reply was that she had to take care of her leg to compete at a Grand Prix event next year. If she has put self before country, she has let down her army of fans not only here but all over the world who sympathised with her cause when she alleged that powerful officials were engaged in a conspiracy to tarnish her image after she rose to stardom by winning the silver medal at the World Championships in Athens last year. Much water has flowed under the bridge since her startling revelations which threatened to end her blossoming career. The innocent village lass who made it big in the city and conquered the world stage was cheered every step of the way as she picked up the pieces. But the 23-year-old super star who has become fashion conscious has now outgrown this image, strutting around like a Florence Griffith Joyner. Her failure to live up to her loud boasts may be due to the mental or physical strain any international athlete goes through. Only she knows best whether she is fit to run or not. However, time will tell whether she is a saint or a hoax after the arbitration panel appointed by the International Amateur Athletic Federation gives their verdict early next year. |
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