Shooting off target by pulling out of Asian Games – NOC Secretary

SHOOTING OFF TARGET BY PULLING OUT OF ASIAN GAMES SAYS NOC Secretary Maxwell de Silva

By Dhammika Ratnaweera

The Secretary of the National Olympic Committee Maxwell De Silva has shot down the Shooting Federation’s claims that they were pulling out of the Asian Games due to a disagreement over team composition for the August showpiece in Jakarta and Palembang.

“They should look within first and see if they will be competitive before coming out and making frivolous and baseless charges in the media blaming the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka for their decision to pull out of the Asian Games,” De Silva, secretary general of the NOCSL, pointed out.

The National Shooting Sports Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF) had stated (in the Sunday Times of May 27, 2018) that they had pulled out of the Asian Games fearing a recurrence of the issues the body had in sending a shooting coach to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.

Meanwhile Days after deciding to pull out from the upcoming 18th Asian Games 2018 to be held in Indonesia, Shirantha Peries, the President of National Shooting Sports Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF) explained further on matters pertaining to that subject.

While the prime cause of their pull out was mainly based on the decision made by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOC) to allow only one official — manager or coach — for multi-event competitions, Peries explained that there are reasons that run further beyond

However NOC Secretary replied and said“This is totally unfounded. Instead of looking at their performance at the Commonwealth Games and making an honest assessment if they would be competitive at the Asian Games, they have dredged up a non-issue, one which was of their own making, from a few months ago,” De Silva pointed out clearly with all deatails.

“For the Commonwealth Games, we told them there was room for only one official to accompany the team of three athletes (shooters) as that was the quota,” De Silva explained. “Instead of sending a coach, they sent another official as the manager of the team. It was their decision not to send a coach.”

Pradeep Edirisinghe who was the manager of the team to the Commonwealth Games is also the general secretary of the NSSF. It is Edirisinghe who has stated that the NSSF will not participate at the Asian Games “just for the sake of doing it” as he believed a coach would not be approved once again.

“Now they are using this as an excuse to pull out of the Asian Games. I feel they know that they will not be competitive and they are blaming us instead of admitting they are not up to the mark,” the NOC’s De Silva stressed.

Shooting Federation has sent two men, Suranga Fernando and Kumara Wijerathna, and one woman, Yasanthika Perera, to the Commonwealth Games. Fernando finished the highest placed of the trio, placed ninth in the Men’s 10 metre air pistol event failing to advance to the final.

The competition at the Asian Games will be of a far higher standard due to the presence of sharpshooters from China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and the former Soviet republics. of Sri Lanka for their decision to pull out of the Asian Games,” De Silva, secretary general of the NOCSL, pointed out.

However National Shooting Sports Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF) President Shirantha Pieiris that they had pulled out of the Asian Games fearing a recurrence of the issues the body had in sending a shooting coach to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.