Are we seeing a rejuvenation in athletics and cricket?

The recent performances of our athletic team has been an eye-opener. For long years, except for a few individual brilliant performances of individual athletes, we have trailed behind other Asian nations in the field.

At the recently concluded Asian Athletic Championships this month, our athletes won three gold medals, two silver and three bronze medals. The team was placed fourth in the overall championship list, behind Japan who bagged a total of 37 medals, China 22 and India 27 medals.
This is the highest position Sri Lanka has ever achieved in the history of the Asian Athletics Championships. The previous best position we held was way back in 2002 when the then team finished in 6th position.

Nadeesha Ramanayake started the flow of gold medals when she won the 400 m women’s gold at the 25th Asian Athletic Championships.
Schoolgirl Tharushi Karunarathne clocked 2:00.66 seconds to win the Gold medal in the 800 metres event. She also broke Sri Lanka’s national record for 800 metres, while Gayanthika Abeyratne won the bronze, 2:03.25.

The championships came to an end with the men’s 4x400m relay which was won by Aruna Dharshana, Rajith Rajakaruna, Pabasara Niku, and Kalinga Kumarage. They finished with a time of 3:01.56 sec, setting an Asian Championship record, breaking the previous record of 3:02.50 set in 2015.
All credit goes to the athletes concerned and their support staff. Unlike in men’s cricketing events, our athletes in other sports do not receive the perks offered to the national cricketing side.
Our athlete’s victory at the Asian Athletic championships was no flash in the pan. Over the past months, the team targeted events they could win. Again, there were no passengers in the team. Only those with a likelihood of winning their event were selected.
If similar standards are lived up to, we may soon be able to do equally well in the forthcoming Asian Games between September 19 and October 4, 2026.

However, the euphoria at the team doing so well at the championships did not elicit as much recognition as men’s cricket received, even when they beat the minnows of cricket in the qualifying rounds of the World Cupto earn a place at the October 2023 World Cup.
Back in March 17, 1996, Sri Lanka erupted with joy and jubilation when Arjuna Ranatunga hit the winning runs at the finals of the ‘Wills World Cup’. Irrespective of race, religion and ethnicity, Lankans were one as they celebrated the victory.

Yes, this was at a time when the ethnic war had not been brought to a close. Yet, king cricket ruled supreme and had the ability to unite our divided isle even for a moment of time. Together we savoured the joy of victory as a country.
That triumph in 1996 was, probably, one of Sri Lanka’s greatest achievements in sports.
More recently, our women’s cricket team too has done itself proud. For the first time, the Sri Lanka Women’s team defeated the New Zealand Women’s team. Hopefully, they too will go on to achieve greater deeds.

Since the retirement of cricketing greats like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and T.M. Dilshan, cricketing performances of our national team nose-dived. Ultimately our team was forced to play in the qualifying rounds to earn a place at the October 2023 World Cup.
Whether it be political interference in the selection process or unproven charges of rigging of elections to the governing body of the sport, it soon led to a drop in performance in the field.
Perhaps the authorities who control men’s cricket in our country and our cricketers themselves have a lesson to learn from the athletic fraternity. None of our athletes were found breaching rules, nor did they pick quarrels with officials governing events they participated in.

Watching the antics of some of our national cricketers at the ‘qualifying rounds’ of the World Cup, we cannot but admire the humility and spirit of Muralitharan who faced adversity and answered critics with achievements, or of the panache of our World Cup winning captain in those times of stress.