NOC chief admits “deserving athletes” left behind

Nationwide Olympic Committee (NOC) president Suresh Subramaniam is constructive Sri Lanka’s athletes on the XXII Commonwealth Video games will carry out to their finest regardless of present process a lot financial hardship.

“All of the athletes are upbeat and they’re very grateful to the respective federations for selecting them, notably for the reason that disaster Sri Lanka goes via. At one time we had been even very nervous that we may very well be right here. Now all are right here. It’s as much as the athletes to maintain the flag flying,” he stated throughout an impromptu interview on the Media Centre in Birmingham earlier than the opening ceremony.

Regardless of Sri Lanka fielding the most important contingent of 110 athletes within the historical past of the Commonwealth Video games, the NOC chief regretted the truth that some deserving athletes needed to be left behind. “Being a sportsman, I consider if anyone takes up any sport to symbolize the nation, we have now to provide them that probability. There are others who consider that solely medal winners must be introduced in. That isn’t the best factor to do. If you happen to take solely the medal winners, we may have just one or two athletes,” stated Subramaniam, a former Sri Lanka Davis Cup tennis participant.

“Sports activities it’s not solely profitable. You create a scenario the place we develop the gamers not solely as a sportsman, however as an excellent citizen of the nation and the world. That is essential. It’s a massive contingent. It might have been greater.

“Significantly in boxing, I used to be eager on bringing all of them. Likewise in all of the sports activities, all of them wish to symbolize the nation. That’s the most important factor everyone has. If they’d come up the exhausting manner, if they’d achieved, I would like them to symbolize,” stated Subramanium.

He was optimistic that weightlifting and wrestling might win medals.

Requested about alleged step-motherly therapy for some federations, he replied: “No matter occurred earlier than, there’s nothing I can do. After I took over, I’ve been very reasonable with all. For me, a sportsman is greater than anyone, any sportsman is greater than politicians, and politics doesn’t come into play with regards to sport.

“Boxing I wished to take everyone. Dian Gomes (Boxing Affiliation president) himself blocked it. That’s incorrect. I stated NOC pays to ship them. When someone says ‘you ship me, I’ll deliver a medal’, I have a look at his credentials and if he had carried out effectively, there is no such thing as a motive I ought to doubt whereas the federation refused to ship. Purpose there’s politics. Nothing to do with me. Politics is completed by the federation not by me.”

On the omission of main girls’s squash participant Fathoum Izzadeen, he stated: “As an NOC or CGA (Commonwealth Video games Affiliation), we’re not the consultants of all of the sports activities. We needed to go by the federation and the respective choice committee suggestions. It isn’t solely the very best participant, there are such a lot of different facets they should observe like they’ve to play trials. I actually don’t know the place she fell brief.

“What I heard is that she didn’t take part within the trials. Adjusting dates is straightforward to say but when everybody comes and says ‘immediately I’m not out there or tomorrow I’m not out there’, the place do you draw the road? If the choice committee had put in a rule and if they’d adopted the rule, then no complaints”.