Rugby and Cricket Blacklisted

By: Susil Premalal

All talk, no action as Sri Lanka becomes the breeding ground for doping scenario among athletes.

In what may be another alltalk and no action or more talk and less action scenario, Deputy Sports Minister Sugath Tillekaratne revealed that 67 toplevel sportsmen and women from 11 sports have been involved in using banned performance-enhancing substances.

He listed the period from 2011 to 2025 when the doping was rampant and the culprits hailed from cricket, rugby, track and field, cycling, bodybuilding, weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, kabaddi, powerlifting and netball.

Deputy Minister Tillekaratne told Parliament the highest number of doping violations were recorded in athletics (12), bodybuilding (12), cycling (12) and rugby (7) as confirmed through investigations conducted by the Sri Lanka AntiDoping Agency (SLADA).

He said some athletes have been driven to use banned substances primarily to demonstrate excellence at national events and to secure international medals.

He also clarified that in Sri Lanka only track and field athletes are directly penalised for doping offenses while coaches or external parties who may have influenced doping are not subjected to any punishment.

Deputy Minister Tillekeratne further pointed out that in neighboring countries, both athletes and their coaches are punished for such violations leaving Sri Lanka exposed as a haven for drug cheats.

His revelations shed light on the ongoing challenge of maintaining clean sport and the need for strict anti-doping regulations to protect the integrity of Sri Lankan athletics and other sports.

Tillekaratne is an Asian Games 400 metres gold medallist and the questions raised by sports followers is will he also end up as yet another “also ran Sports Minister” like some of his predecessors.