NOCSL to select 20-member pool of budding athletes

NOCSL has decided to form a 20-member National Pool of young athletes (File photo)

By Susil Premalal

The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) has decided to form a 20-member National Pool of young athletes.

This is in preparation for the 2022 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in addition to the South Asian Games (SAG) to be held in 2021 or 2022.

Five young promising athletes have been selected so far by a committee headed by 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Silver Medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe and comprising 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games Gold Medallist Shehan Ambepitiya, SAG Gold Medallist Ineka Cooray and 2012 Olympic Games swimmer Rishika Udugampola.
The selected athletes are Sithum Jayasundara, Tharushi Karunaratne, weightlifters W. D. K. Kumara, Sachini Laksarani, and gymnast Milka Gimhani. 

The next five athletes will be chosen within the next few days while the balance 10 slots will be kept open to be selected from local competitions to be held during the next three months. 

The scholarships will cover costs such as nutrition, transportation costs, coaching fees, accommodation, logistic such as clothing, sports gear, and medical expenses necessary for the training, grooming and development of each selected athlete.