The Athletics Association of Sri Lanka has decided to postpone the much-awaited Selection Trials for the year 2020 but as not to completely wipe out the calendar, the association will host a Time test event in October for elite athletes.
A decision was taken yesterday (7) by the selection committee of the AASL and President General Palitha Fernando to hold off on conducting the selection trials with the rapidly increasing threat of the Covid-19 virus.
However, the AASL will still hold a time testing event on the 23, 24, 25th of October but for a limited pool. 60 odd athletes who are training in the National pool currently along with some top performers at the 2019 South Asian Games will have a chance to showcase their progression during the past 9 months.
President of the Athletics Association General Palitha Fernado spoke with ThePapare.com on the recent developments.
“We decided to go ahead with this event as an evaluation meet with only the feel that of a competition. Athletes who are in the National Pool (60) as well as players who won medals at the 2019 SAG and a few others who performed well will be under supervision at the event. It’s a good opportunity for both us (officials) and the athletes to take part as they haven’t participated in a single meet since December 2019 and we (officials) also need to see how our Athletes are progressing during this tough time.”
General Fernando also went on to say that the only two events they planned on having as full-blown events for the year, the Junior and Senior Nationals, are also hanging in the balance with the recent outbreak of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka.
“I guess we will have to call the Nationals Suspended” said General Fernando, casting some significant doubt on the sport for the rest of the year.
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