October 19, (LNW) Colombo :
Nowadays, there’s much discussion about coaches in Sri
Lanka, particularly since Sri Lankan Chandika
Hathurusingha has had to resign from his coaching position
in Bangladesh. Chandika Hathurusingha was the coach
who helped take Bangladesh cricket to new heights,
reaching milestones previously unattainable.
Bangladesh cricket has decided to remove him because he
punched a player in the ear. Such acts of violence are not
condoned in today’s moral landscape.
The word admonishment is substituted for such behavior
by our traditional beliefs. As well as the myth that ‘to teach
someone, you have to hit them’, we have been keeping it as
a ritual for a long time. Because of the habit of behaving
like slaves in the presence of superiors, a person who
preaches any teaching is thought to have the right to slap
someone in the ear.
As a result, the behavior that suggests a license to attack
others within our society particularly those in teaching
positions or in authority may have influenced
Hathurusingha as well.
If this had occurred in Sri Lanka, Hathurusingha could
have been a valuable teacher or coach for those in positions
of authority within the Sports Ministry (the current status
of the Sports Minister is still unclear). There has been no
investigation or punishment. It is also possible to
congratulate Hathurusingha for allowing the flowing
mistakes to flow.
This indicates that the Sports Ministry has dissolved and
retained administrative power for itself. Even with videos
of a rugby coach slapping a school player’s ear circulating
multiple times, there has been no action taken to penalize
that coach. No inquiries have been conducted. If this is the
kind of reporting coming from those who oversee all sports
in Sri Lanka, we must consider the potential impact on the
future of sports in the country.
Meanwhile, a recent incident highlights that the Ministry
of Sports is making decisions about coaches without
considering the players, particularly evident in the recent
selection of coaches for the Hong Kong cross-country race.
The coach there is brilliant. He has a great history but has
not had many opportunities. But it is not the coach of the
athlete or athlete representing the cross-country
competition. Therefore, we agree about Sajith Jayalal or
Upali Wickramasinghe going on that tour, but we do not
agree about Pandula Silva going on that tour. It is also
difficult to imagine how the Ministry of Sports decides it.
We agree with one heart to fight against not getting the
proper place. But they cannot be praised for accepting
someone else’s opportunity to succeed.
Consequently, sports in Sri Lanka cannot thrive in an
environment that lacks the vision to reject such unmerited
actions and fight for what has been lost.
The fault of the officials who think that the players’ ears are
not hurt must be their heads. If the thoughts of those heads
are not correct, the game may fall down without being able
to rise again from the blows that hit the ears of the sport. In
this regard, higher political authorities that refrain from
making decisions or investigating the actions of officials
are stalling these matters until after their votes are cast,
resulting in considerable damage.
For instance, the cross-country competition in Hong Kong
cannot be held following the voting process. Also, if the
privilege of hitting the ear of the licensee before the
election is followed by the same person who attacked him
or another person who took him as an example, it is
possible that ear-splitting will become normal during the
voting and the trainers will be using it as their right.
