LONDON OLYMPICS: WHERE IS SRI LANKA?

4 competitors from Sri Lanka for the Olympics in London

The smallest group sent from Sri Lanka after 3 decades

The major issue for the media in Sri Lanka is as to what channel will broadcast Olympics. Will it be ‘Sirasa’/’MTV’ or ‘Rupavahini’? At the same time, there is a court case among the two channels.
Yet nobody speaks as to who represents the country. It is sad to say that the sportsmen in Sri Lanka are very rare that there is hardly somebody to represent Sri Lanka. Only 4 sportsmen are representing the country this time at Olympics.
Only four sportsmen represented Sri Lanka in 1984.
Later on it showed a gradual growth and in the year 2000 when Susanthika Jayasinghe won the silver medal, there were 14 members from Sri Lanka. But now it has degenerated.

Only two sportsmen have been up to the standards of their fields to represent Sri Lanka at London 2012 Olympics which is due to commence on 27th July. They are Marathon runner Anuradha Indrajith Cooray and badminton player, Niluka Karunaratne.
Yet regarding the places of the other players, two more sportsmen have been allowed to take part in Olympic Games. Thus, two more sportsmen who haven’t met the required standards have been given the opportunity to take part in the game. Those are Mangala Samarakoon, selected for the rifle shooting event and swimmer, Heshan Unambuwa.
Below is a schedule showing the number of contestants who participated in Olympics from Sri Lanka from the year 1984.

It is reported that Susanthika Jayasinghe is going to go to London with the team as the manager of them and Mangala Samarakoon will be representing the team as its Team leader. After three decades we have come to the same old place we were before. Other then choosing a TV channel to broadcast the games, it is necessary to find a solution to the status of our country with regard to Sports.  The relevant official will have to take necessary actions to develop the field of Sports.