Hiruni, track and field manager dropped from the Commonwealth Games team

by Reemus Fernando  

Marathoner Hiruni Wijeratne and the manager named by Sri Lanka Athletics for the track and field team have been dropped from the Commonwealth Games contingent.

Sri Lanka Athletics sources said that with the US-based marathoner being dropped from the team there will only be three female athletes representing the country.

The selectors of Sri Lanka Athletics picked a team of eight including four male and four female athletes for the quadrennial event starting on July 28th in Birmingham.

The secretary of the National Olympic Committee, Maxwell de Silva said that the National Selection Committee had decided to pick only two officials for the track and field team.

“NSSC allocated two slots for officials giving priority to coaches of athletes,” said de Silva in reply to queries by The Island.

According to him national coach Y.K. Kularatne and Italy based sprinter Yupun Abeykoon’s coach will travel with the team.

The managers play an important role in a track and field team. There had been occasions when the managers had to make crucial interventions on behalf of athletes at multi-sports events.

Those who travelled with Sri Lanka’s team for the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008 bear witness to how vital was the manager’s role in Shehan Ambepitiya winning three gold medals.

“Saman Kumara was the manager of the team and he intervened at the right time when the draw of the semi-finals was announced. Ambepitiya had been wrongly drawn alongside the fastest athletes of the heats in the semi-finals. Saman Kumara intervened fast to correct the error. If not for his timely intervention Ambepitiya probably would not have won three golds at that meet,” said an athletics official.

Sri Lanka Athletics had named one of their senior officials Lal Chandrakumara for the vital manager role.

With the National Selection Committee dropping the manager from the track and field team it was not clear who would take up the responsibilities of the manager.

The omission of marathoner Hiruni Wijeratne means that Sri Lanka’s track and field team will have only three female athletes. Steeplechase athlete Nilani Ratnayake, 800 metres specialist Gayanthika Abeyratne and long jumper Sarangi Silva are the female athletes in the team.

Sprinter Yupun Abeykoon, 400 metres specialist Kalinga Kumarage, US-based high jumper Ushan Thiwanka and Javelin thrower Sumedha Ranasinghe are the male athletes.