The Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) held a media briefing yesterday regarding the 95th National Athletic Championship that will be worked off from the 31st of August to the 02nd of September.
Gen. Palitha Fernando – President of AASL addressing the gathering, advised that there are many plans that have been put in place to uplift the state of athletics in the country as currently Sri Lanka only possesses a handful of athletes who are ranked in the top ten of the Asian standings. He stated that the association has already explored the avenues of sending the athletes abroad for specialized training programs, keeping the Commonwealth games and Asian Athletic championship scheduled in April and August in mind.
President Fernando harped on the importance of developing the next generation of Sri Lankan athletes as it has been the main reason for the decline in athletic performance in the past few years. He announced that with the Sugathadasa track to be re-layed and ready to be occupied. The association has secured the opportunity to host the Junior South Asian Athletic Championship in Colombo which will supply an ideal platform for the youngsters to perform. A Junior South Asian Athletic ChampionshiASL have identified a core squad of 25 athletes but will add more athletes who perform during the local competition to the mix and provide them with an opportunity at the Junior South Asian Championship. He also stated that the AASL is looking at securing at least 10 medals in the Asian Junior competition which is to be held in Japan. According to Fernando the AASL has already discussed with the athletes and especially their coaches regarding their plans in achieving the target in their respective discipline. He also stated that the association will do regular testing on athletes to gauge their status and how they plan on achieving the required target.
Speaking further Gen. Fernando also mentioned that AASL is in the process of securing foreign training opportunities for two male 400m runners, Aruna Dharshana & D.M Kodikara and also female Long Jumper K.R.M Abeyrathne who have shown promise in their respective disciplines.
Next year holds an eventful schedule for all the athletes as a number of international competitions which include the Senior Commonwealth games, Asian Games , Junior South Asian Championship, Junior Asian Championship and World Youth Championship to be worked off.
