Sri Lanka to field huge contingent at Asian Youth Games
Sri Lanka will field one of its strongest and largest ever contingent at junior level, with a force of 100 athletes for the 3rd Asian Youth Games, which is set to take place from October 22 to 31 in Manama, Bahrain. The Sri Lankan contingent will include 154 members, including a record 100 athletes, who will represent across 12 sports disciplines. The 100 athletes include 56 boys and 44 girls, who will be accompanied by 31 team officials and 19 contingent officials, led by Chef-de-Mission, Rear Admiral (Rtd) Manjula Dissanayake.
Sri Lanka will compete in athletics, badminton, 3×3 basketball, boxing, esports, golf, kabaddi, swimming, taekwondo, beach volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling. Pugilist Janidu Dananjaya and long jumper Dilini Nethsala will take the honour of leading the contingent as flag bearers at the opening ceremony set to take place at the Bahrain National Stadium, inside the Isa Sports City on October 22.
The Sri Lankan athletes are among over 5000 athletes who will be part of the 12-day event from a total of 45 countries from the Asian region. The multi-sport event, held across 20 venues across Bahrain, will include a total of 26 sports disciplines, but Sri Lanka will pin their hopes on 12 out of the lot with medal potential. However, the games will begin on October 19 with the commencement of team sports such as beach volleyball, handball, kabaddi, teqball and volleyball.
At the inaugural Asian Youth Games held in Singapore in 2009, Sri Lanka claimed three medals – a silver and two bronze, while at the second edition held in Nanjing, China in 2013 the island nation doubled their efficiency to win six medals – a silver and five bronze. At the third edition held following two postponements, Sri Lanka hopes to further bolster their chances with more medals with a strong force in action.
“Of course we would be overjoyed to win 100 medals or more, one each from each athlete. But the reality is far different. We know that the Asian Youth Games feature the cream of young talents from each country from the region, and we are fielding the best team. The victories and experiences will surely refine these youngsters to become future assets of the country in sports,” noted Suresh Subramaniam, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC).
According to Subramaniam, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has stepped forward to assist the contingent with funds for airfare, accommodation and food, while the NOC mediated to have Lovi Ceylon and Carnage join in as Official Attire Partner and the Official Clothing Partner.
“We have come to this stage following the tireless efforts made by the NOC over the past few months to prepare and coordinate all aspects of participation to ensure the wellbeing and keenness of the entire delegation. NOC remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering youth talent and strengthen Sri Lanka’s presence at Asian stage and beyond,” he added.
The travelling contingent will include a ‘Safeguarding Officer’, who will be responsible of identifying and responding to concerns, making referrals to relevant services, monitoring cases, and providing training and guidance to staff, for the first time, with most athletes being minors. NOC’s Gobinath Sivarajah will serve as Sri Lanka’s first-ever Safeguarding Officer, who will oversee the safety and wellbeing of the 100 young athletes. Though the contingent was announced yesterday at the Duncan White Auditorium, the names were not officially released pending approval of the Ministry of Sports.