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by DINESH WEERAWANSA

It's 12 days to go for the 43-nation Asian Athletic Championships to be held in Colombo in August. This is the 38th in a series of articles in the ANCL English language newspapers, which leads the largest-ever sporting event to be hosted by Sri Lanka. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) (Print media sponsor) and Dialog GSM (Sri Lanka team sponsor, official mobile communication provider and the official web designer & hoster) are two of the six Gold sponsors of the event. The entire article series of our Asiad Countdown is available on the official web-site of the meet is: http:// www.asianathletics2002.com

A new electronic system, costing over Rs. 32.4 million will be installed at the Sugathadasa Outdoor Stadium for the 14th Asian Athletic championships, to be worked off in Colombo from August 8 to 12. This will be the best ever such system to be installed in Sri Lanka and will include two giant electronic display screens on either side of the grounds, a modern electronic timing and wind gauge system, cameras and photo finish equipment and computers.

The total cost for the above is Rs. 32,407,708. This is a part of the lucrative Rs. 106.7 million tender awarded to N & D Trading, which is handling the major re-developments of venue, including the main 400m running track, a separate 200m warm-up track on the swimming pool end of the grounds and the above complete electronic system.

The full sum to be paid for the tender is Rs. 106,712,969. Of this figure, Rs. 54,574,435 (nearly 54.6 million) is for the 400m track and Rs. 19,730,826 (19.7 million) for the 200m track. The new electronic timing system to be installed is 'Alge'.

In addition to the two permanent electronic screens, a giant television screen too will be installed to be used during the championship. This TV screen will display the live television feed of the championship so that the spectators could have another closer look, irrespective of their seating position at the venue. This is a normal practice in all major international sports events such as the Olympic and Asian Games.

The Government has allocated a total sum of Rs. 200 million for the Asian Championship and the balance would be met through sponsorships, which come under three categories - gold, silver and bronze. All sports loving public should commend the lavish contribution by the Government for Sri Lanka sports at a time the country is trying to recover from an unimpressive economy. But the large sums spent on the venue is an investement for the future and the next generation sportsmen and women will have one of the best grounds in Asia. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has given his fullest backing to the youthful Minister of Sports, Johnston Fernando, who is also the chairman of the organising committee.

Minister Fernando is working almost round the clock, visiting the venue even at odd hours to personally monitor the re-development process of the venue.

He has instructed his officials to work for the perfection and make every effort to make the championships the most successful ever.

Of the balance money of the Rs. 200 million budget allocated by the Government for the championship, will be spent on the other development work at the venue. All boundary walls, surrounding areas and the main Alfasi Stadium has been given a complete new look, colour washed and refurbished to meet the demands of the Asian athletic extravaganza. 

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