Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 1, 2023: The President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, Suresh Subramaniam, has revealed that the NOC will be receiving foreign assistance to put in place a long-term plan for medal glory.
In the final issue for 2022 of the Sri Lanka NOC’s GoodSport newsletter, Subramaniam says the NOC is in the process of inviting a sports expert from Switzerland who would recommend a long-term plan for the development of elite athletes in the country.
“We are in the process of getting a professor from the University of Lausanne to do a five-year or 10-year plan. It will be costly but it is okay for, when I leave office one day, there will be a plan in place for others to follow,” Subramaniam said.
Subramaniam, who was elected SL NOC President in 2018, spelled out the need for a long-term plan aimed at fostering elite athletes winning podium places at international events in a year-end summary.
“Champions are not produced by the NOCSL. Champions are produced by the respective federations. Our job is to convert these champions into a medal winner. Producing a medal winner cannot be done overnight. It is a 10-year plus grind, maybe 15 years,” Subramaniam pointed out.
The Sri Lanka NOC has already put in place a plan financially supporting promising young athletes in a number of sports on the international stage.
“We have around 20 athletes below the age of 18 and we give them financial assistance and provide them with coaching and other support.
"We also have a private company, Crysbo, who have a similar programme, and we hope to get a few others involved.
“Everyone agrees that we have to focus on young athletes and that this process will take some time to provide results – medals. Some of these aspiring athletes might give up and there may be new additions, but the key is to provide them with a pathway which the NOC has done,” Subramaniam said.
Subramaniam called on all stakeholders to join hands to move Sri Lankan sport forward. The last Olympic medal Sri Lanka won was back in Sydney 2000 when sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe earned silver in the women’s 200m.
“We have a plan to move forward. As IOC President Thomas Bach said 'Let us join hands to go faster, aim higher, become stronger – together’.
"In this true Olympic spirit, I wish you all a happy, healthy and successful pre-Olympic year 2023,” he added.