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Proud Sri Lanka athletes defy crisis to fulfil Games dreams
by Amal JAYASINGHE
Sri Lankan badminton champion Niluka Karunaratne heads to England next week to cap his Commonwealth Games career where it began — a swansong almost derailed by his bankrupt country’s bruising economic crisis.Competition organisers and Sri Lanka’s cricket board are funding the island nation’s largest-ever Games contingent, with 114 athletes flying to Birmingham in the coming days alongside coaches and support staff.
Local sports federations have been bled dry by Sri Lanka’s financial crash, leaving athletes in doubt in recent weeks over whether they would be able to compete at all.
“Sport has been our lives, it would have been a big, big disappointment,” said Karunaratne, a three-time Olympian who has appeared at every Commonwealth Games since his debut as a teenager at Manchester in 2002.
“Fortunately the sports ministry and the national cricket board did a great, great job to somehow find the funds,” the 37-year-old told AFP.
Sri Lanka has weathered months of food and fuel shortages, blackouts and runaway inflation in the wake of its worst financial crash on record. Public anger over the downturn this month saw a huge crowd storm the home and office of the country’s president, who then fled abroad and resigned.Sports federations were hit hard by the crisis after already seeing their coffers drained during the coronavirus pandemic, which obliterated athletic sponsorships from local businesses.
Federations were left without enough cash to pay for athlete uniforms and plane tickets at a time when a post-pandemic travel bounce has driven up the cost of airfares.Dampath Fernando, the Sri Lankan team’s chef de mission, said administrators had lobbied for support in their determination to do everything they could to give the country a chance to compete.
“As a matter of principle sport brings so many good things, so much happiness,” Fernando told AFP.
“We want to stand like other nations, in front of our flag, as a proud nation, keeping our backs straight, our heads strong and we want to do our best.”
Commonwealth Games organisers were made aware of the Sri Lankans’ financial struggles and responded with a promise to sponsor the bulk of the travelling squad.
Sri Lanka’s cricket board, which recently hosted Australia despite fears political unrest would disrupt their seven-week tour of the island, chipped in more than 22 million rupees ($60,000) to help cover the remaining shortfall.
– ‘We have a responsibility’ –
Sri Lanka’s worsening economy has thrown up other obstacles for the country’s athletes and their determination to improve on their haul of one silver and five bronze medals at the Gold Coast in 2018. Fuel shortages have made it difficult for some competitors to travel to practice, while budget constraints have left sport federations short of clothing and other essential equipment. Fernando said the resilience of the athletes had made him and his colleagues determined to get the competitors to the Games, which start next Thursday.
“This is not the first time that we as a country have faced these type of battles,” Fernando said, citing a decades-long civil war and a tsunami that killed more than 30,000 of his compatriots.
“It’s a dream of athletes to take part,” he added. “We have a responsibility to fulfil that dream. Just because we are facing economic crisis… does not mean that we just forget about it.”
Disruptions and unrest are now part of daily life in Sri Lanka and many athletes have done their best to make do.
“Anyway, I can’t control it,” said Ganga Senavirathne, 19, a swimmer preparing for her Commonwealth Games debut.
“In terms of things I can control, like my training, I was able to manage everything pretty well,” she told AFP.
“Politics is not a conversation I enjoy.”
Several ex-Cabinet ministers questioned; Ranil, Sajith, too likely to be summoned
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has initiated an inquiry into the shifting of the Agriculture Ministry situated at Rajamalwatte, to a building belonging to the D. P. Jayasinghe Group of Companies, at Rajagiriya, during the Yahapalana government.
The building was rented for a five-year period at a cost of over Rs 1 bn by the yahapalana government within months after the then President Maithripala Sirisena declared opened the 10-storey building complex.
The CIABOC yesterday morning recorded former yahapalana minister Gayantha Karunatilleke’s statement in connection with the investigation. Later in the day, CIABOC recorded the statement of SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabanadara. Earlier CIABOC summoned former ministers Thalatha Atukorale, Wajira Abeywardena and Lakshman Kiriella. At the time of the finalisation of the deal, KIriella was in the UNP.
Sources said that former PM and President Ranil Wickremesinghe, too, was likely to be questioned in this regard. Responding to The Island queries, sources pointed out even SJB leader Sajith Premadasa was expected to be questioned.
The then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is on record as having said that the building was rented in keeping with a decision taken by the government and not Parliament.
The UNP-SLFP coalition shifted the Agriculture Ministry to accommodate 16 Sectoral Oversight Committees therein.
Although the government paid as much as Rs. 21.5 mn monthly rent to D.P.A. Jayasinghe Company, the Agriculture Ministry failed to move in for over a year. The then Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake sought Cabinet approval on Dec 1, 2015 to rent the building.
According to inquiries conducted earlier by the Presidential Commission appointed to probe state sector corruption, the Agriculture Ministry sought Cabinet approval for a new building after the then Prime Minister Wickremesinghe submitted a cabinet proposal on 21 September, 2015, to use the Agriculture Ministry building for Parliament’s sectoral oversight committees.
PM Wickremesinghe’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake has told the Commission that public funds could have been saved if the several vacant floors of Suhurupaya belonging to the Defence Ministry had been made available to the Agriculture Ministry.
By Shamindra Ferdinando ✍️
Railway sources said that the damages caused to railway tracks could be more than USD 300 mn.
According to UNDP Rapid Crisis Assessment Sri Lanka’s railroad system, over 278 km of railways were exposed to cyclone-related flooding, including 35 railroad bridges nationwide. This figure reflects flooding only, but other hazards (such as localised debris, landslides, or damage to a single bridge) can also disrupt operations, meaning that even relatively small obstructions can render long stretches of railway non-operational. Like road exposure, railway exposure limits mobility and the capacity of affected populations to access key services and infrastructure.
At the level of divisional secretariats, Colombo and Thimbirigasyaya in Colombo District, Ja Ela in Gampaha District, as well as Mannar Town and Nanaddan in Mannar District all registered over 10 km of exposed railways each.
Commissioner-General of Essential Services B.K. Prabath Chandrakeerthi is on record as having said that only 478 kilometers of Sri Lanka’s 1,593-km railway network were currently usable following extensive damage caused by the recent cyclone.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker arrived in Colombo yesterday (11) to underscore US interest in defence, trade and maritime security in line with their Indo-Pacific strategy.
The US embassy here issued the following statement: “Under Secretary Hooker will meet with Sri Lankan counterparts to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues, focused on deepening economic and commercial ties, strengthening defence cooperation, and supporting Sri Lanka’s economic and maritime sovereignty.
The United States and Sri Lanka share a strong and enduring partnership rooted in our mutual commitment to regional security, economic growth, and prosperity for our peoples. Through close cooperation on defence, trade, and maritime security, we are working together to advance a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
As we continue to build on our strategic partnership, the United States also stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they respond to the devastating impacts of Cyclone Ditwah. We remain committed to working together to address both immediate challenges and long-term opportunities for our two nations, reflecting our ongoing commitment to the U.S.-Sri Lanka partnership.”
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, North-Central, Eastern and Uva provinces and in Puttalam, Matale and Kurunegala districts
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