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Olympian calls authorities to send medal-hopefuls to Asian Games
Sri Lanka’s high jumper Ushan Thiwanka cannot compete at the 2018 Asian Games due to mishap among sports authorities in the country.
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Ushan Thiwanka receives an award at the end of the National Athletics Championship early August. He was selected by the Athletics Association of Sri Lanka after he cleared a height of 2.24 meters at the selection trial held in May. (The Island/Kamal Wanniarachchi)
S
ri Lanka’s first Asian Games gold medallist Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam is concerned over the inability of authorities to get accreditation for Asian Games medal prospect, high jumper Ushan Thiwanka.
The Olympian and former national high-jump record holder Ethirveerasingam urges the political hierarchy and country’s sports authorities to get together to correct the error and make way for the high jumper Thiwanka and other selected athletes to take part in the Asian Games starting this Saturday.
Thiwanka and Upamali Rathnakumari who were selected for the Asian Games after the selection trial in May will not be able to represent the country due to an accreditation issue. While the National Olympic Committee is citing the strict accreditation procedures of the Games’ organizers and the negligence of Athletics Association of Sri Lanka for the mishap, the latter has placed the blame on NOC’s stubbornness.
Ethirveerasingam, who also had similar experience in his prime, expressed his concern in an email to The Island.
"The important action is for NOC, AASL and the Sports Ministry [to take] and if necessary the President and the PM should get together, sort out what can be done to correct the error to enable the high jumper and the mix relay team to enter," wrote the gold medallist of the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games who set the then Asian Games record. Ethirveerasingam won a silver medal at the 1962 Asian Games too.
"I make this appeal as the first gold medallist in the AG for Sri Lanka," he wrote.
"It is devastating for an athlete to go through such an ordeal. Hope justice will be done. I almost was dropped for the two Asian Games but for those who cared. Please help. Please don’t give up," the Olympian wrote.
Ethirveerasingam has supported many national athletes, including current national high-jump record holder Manjula Kumara, at different stages of their careers. Incidentally, Thiwanka too has been coached by Ethirveerasingam when the athlete was there in the US for a few months.
Ushan Thiwanka was selected by the Athletics Association of Sri Lanka after he cleared a height of 2.24 meters at the selection trial held in May.
That height is better than the silver medal performance of two of the last three Asian Games.
This article appeared on The Island newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
