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Colourful opening ceremony

By Our Special Correspondent

Jata Shankar leading the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Asian athletic meet in Colombo on Thursday. — Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

COLOMBO AUG. 8. The Sugathadasa Stadium was packed to capacity as the 14th edition of the Asian athletic championships was declared open by the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Thursday.

A spectacular fireworks display marked the opening ceremony at which the queen of Sri Lankan athletics, Susanthika Jayasinghe, and the first man to win an Asian Games athletics gold, in 1954, high jumper Nagalingam Ediriweerasinghe carried the torch around the track and lighted the cauldron.

After having run a protracted battle with the officialdom not long ago, this must have been a moment of great satisfaction for Jayasinghe, now the international face of Sri Lankan athletics. She also had the honour of taking the oath and needless to say, the spotlight will turn towards her more and more over the next few days.

As it often happens, the march-past, attended by very few members of the official squads, elicited little response. The idea of standing infield for hours is not the best build-up for athletes scheduled to compete the next morning. The Indian team was led by 400m runner Jata Shankar.

There was the usual quota of music and dance within a colourful cultural programme, though right at the start there was mishap, too, when one of the skydivers landed right on top of a tree and got entangled in its branches.

Fire brigade personnel rescued the man, though it could not be ascertained whether he had suffered any injuries.

Politics couldn't have taken a backseat on a day like this with the main topic of discussion being the absence of the Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunge, at the opening.

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