Sri Lanka has a history of key office-bearers in some national sports bodies playing musical chairs to circumvent the country’s Sports Law and retain their stranglehold on power. They are master tacticians in garnering votes to extend their term in office by hook or crook. Some associations are run as if it’s their family fiefdom. They project themselves as being indispensable and saviours of the sport they have chosen to give leadership but once ensconced in office, they strut around like politicians being the least concerned on why they were elected in the first place.
Many officials consider themselves to be VIPs when intoxicated with the taste of power and for them there is no such thing as pride of place to be given to the development of the sport and athlete without which their very existence becomes superfluous. It takes two to tango but in a country where the system allows power hungry officials to call the shots, sportsmen and women are used more as a vehicle to upgrade their social status with superficial proclamations of bringing glory to the country.
 Sajeev de Silva with his medals won at the 2019 South Asian Games |
An intriguing post on social media by a former Sri Lanka rower turned champion archer Sajeev de Silva has encapsulated the dilemma faced by athletes who feel short changed by incompetent self-serving individuals hanging on to the reins of power as if their very lives depended on it. It is rare for someone who is actively engaged in a sport and has aspirations of representing the country at the Olympics to come out against the establishment. The 29-year-old may be fishing in troubled waters but he hit the target straight as an arrow pointing out the predicament faced by athletes many of whom silently bear the injustices they encounter for fear of reprisals.
An outstanding rower at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, Sajeev de Silva represented Sri Lanka at the 2000 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea competing in the double scull and scull events. He also took part in the 2011 Asian Rowing Championship in South Korea but he was not just interested in participating in international events.
“I went to two international events and was not doing well at all. After that I decided rowing is not the sport to get to the next level. I wanted to get to the Olympic level. Not just to go to the event. I wanted to have a good chance of winning the event,” he said.
“I looked at what sports are good to change. Then I started archery in 2012 at CR&FC,” he said before eventually moving out because he wanted to work with the best coach at the time. The reason he chose Recurve was because it was an Olympic event.
He proved his skill by bagging a team silver medal in the 2016 South Asian Games (SAG) in addition to an individual bronze, mixed team bronze and team silver medal at the 2019 SAG.
Thereafter he emerged as the leading contender for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics shooting regularly well above the MQS (minimum qualifying standard) for the Games of 640 which he first fired at home in 2017. He missed qualifying from the Asian quota in Thailand after he was placed ninth with only the first three finishers being selected for Tokyo. In the final qualifier (for the 2020 Olympic Games) held in Paris last month, Sajeev lost in the third round to Switzerland’s Florian Faber.
“You need a bit of luck also in archery because it’s like a knock out system. Based on where you are in the draw you can get a really good person in your bracket. I won the first two matches but lost in the third round. The person who won the fourth round qualified,” explained Sajeev who also lost in the first round to Nicholas D’Amour of Virgin Islands, the eventual winner of the 2021 Archery World Cup in Paris.
He has not given up on his Olympic dream though he hardly gets any motivation from officials of the Sri Lanka Archery Association (SLAA) who are more concerned about warming their chairs.
“I don’t get paid to do this. I have to balance work and archery. I came close because I was putting in my personal effort. I had a personal coach (Korean) for about three years. He left after Covid entered the scene,” said Sajeev who is not considered a high performance athlete though the Sports Ministry has recognized archery as having the potential to win medals.
“I changed from rowing to archery because I have a desire to win. We have to go about it the correct way if you want to get there,” said Sajeev who has shot a career best 660.
“I will work towards my goal but if the association is not good you can’t expect progress. I might perform to a certain level but there won’t be anyone after that to keep the whole momentum going. That comes down to the association having a plan and working towards it,” he warned.
Speaking on behalf of athletes who toil for success without anything in return, he feels they are let down by national associations which in turn are funded by the Ministry of Sports and the Department of Sports Development.
“As Mahela Jayawardena (National Sports Council chairman) mentioned in one of his recent speeches, archery is a sport that Sri Lankans can excel in and win an Olympic medal in the future. Consider that the world’s number one female archer is Deepika Kumari from India. There is an excellent Netflix documentary about her story called ‘Ladies First’ which everyone should watch,” stated the national champion in Olympic Recurve since 2018.
“So what holds us back from achieving the same kind of success? In this instance, it’s none other than the national association. What happens when the same members hold office in the national association without a plan or even an intention to improve the sport,” he states while alluding to the fact that the founding president of SLAA Cdr (rtd) H.U. Silva has been in office for over decades alternating as secretary, vice president and president.
“We do not reach our potential as athletes as the surrounding environment does not create the conditions needed for success - or even survival. In Sri Lankan archery, these association members have been dominating the sport long enough to influence the system and drive stagnation,” pointed out Sajeev who had made representations of this anomaly to former Sports Ministers Faiszer Mustapha, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Harin Fernando and the incumbent Namal Rajapaksa.
Sajeev is a very rare individual who is fearlessly taking on officials of the sport he represents.
“They can’t really do anything to me. I don’t have a contract. I am not getting paid. I am sometimes paying and going for an event,” said Sajeev, a member of Racecourse Archery Club which is one of the oldest affiliates of SLAA.
“We are not getting anything from the sport and we keep spending. It doesn’t make sense,” said Sajeev, alleging that the SLAA was formed not to develop the sport but basically to get the NOC (National Olympic Committee) appointments at the time while also claiming elections were rigged this time.
The bottom line is how do officials justify their presence in national sports associations if their heart is not there to develop the sport but only serve their vested interests?
“Although these association members have dominated the sport for - literally - decades, they have not produced success or the factors needed for it.
“Would a CEO who doesn’t produce results be allowed to control a company for 20 years? Would a principal who does not hire teachers be allowed to run a school for two decades? These members have failed in their mandate, and should not be allowed to sit in their positions of power and ruin the sport any longer,” stated Sajeev without pulling his punches.
Sajeev de Silva representing Sri Lanka at the Asian Rowing Championships held in Korea in 2011