Snags aplenty in Sri Lanka on way to SAG!
On this day, December 1, the South Asian Games (SAG) in Nepal, will unfold with the opening ceremonies heralding a galaxy of sports competitions in this Asian region and our backyard as it were! On record over the years, India goes out there to dominate the arenas that stretch from Kathmandu to Pokhara and beyond, with Sri Lanka perceived as a worthy contender.
Feverish activity has thus pervaded the corridors of the Ministry of Sports (MOS) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) with every single soul attempting to put together the Sri Lanka contingent which boastfully claims to be the largest that has left our island. On top of the frenzy was the changing of the guard following the Presidential Elections that took the flamboyant sports enthusiast, Harin Fernando out of the reckoning at the very last moment. With the subject of Sports now assigned in the short term to Dullas Alahapperuma also beset with many other responsibilities, it was left to the Director General of Sports, to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring that Sri Lanka was on track to maintain its momentum in Nepal.
The DG, those in the sports firmament will tell you, is an honourable man. He also enjoys a flowery turn of speech in the vernacular on any occasion, before he gets down to the business at hand. He and his energetic Director of Sports and the battery of MOS staff seem to have been busy as bees, but one could not but help be concerned with the rather chaotic way many logistic and supply functions unfolded, a concern that the DG very humbly admitted in a few forums. Not to belittle the onerous task of organising a large mass of athletes leaving our shores, but not to gloss over a general lackadaisical attitude either, especially with the officials who festoon the many cubicles at the MOS and use occasions like this to demonstrate their petty might. Without doubt, there were structural shortcomings in the whole organisation of the contingent with focus more on grandstanding than performance; a mind over matter malady, one may add!
Sadly, the much-trumpeted SAG overarching desire to make the best impression at SAG and bring back the medals to our beloved isle.
Interestingly, both the NOC and its affiliates - the NSAs, did not rise to the occasion. The NSAs delayed the inevitable and very few if at all, stuck to deadlines. There were inordinate delays on their part; some legitimate, some unforeseen but most of them negligent and callous, putting the burden clearly on the MOS and the NOC. But to add to the misery, the NOC appeared to play ducks and drakes, shadow boxing and playing catch-me-if-you-can versus the MOS and the NSAs. Many NSAs were confronted with spurious entries of persons into their team lists, some doctored at the MOS to accommodate favourite sons and daughters and others manipulated within the unholy axis between the MOS and the NOC. The big boss of NOC must take a cold hard look at his core team and charges and call the bluff, while the ebullient MOS – DG has already promised that he will take note of the weaknesses within his own ranks.
At the end of the day, the key focus should have been performance by our teams at SAG in Nepal. Our energies should be directed at nothing else. Expending unproductive time and money on vainglorious pursuits will not improve our showing in the mountain capital. As proposed by several sports pundits of the past, the MOS and NOC must invest in a National Sports Portal that provides full transparency in the organisation of events such as this. Team Selections, Official appointments, Participant appeals, Material requirements, Logistics and supply chain, can all be managed seamlessly in a compact portal that captures the information in real time and disseminates it efficiently. Timelines can then be imposed and any over-riding where necessary would also be captured, establishing a level playing field for all. Perhaps this is something the new Minister of Sports can introduce, reflecting the renewed energy of a fresh national governance that is unfolding in the country each day. We need not continue to take snags to SAG or any other event; a nation’s stars will suffice!