Roll out red carpet to heroes, name and shame missing stars
Just as much as the country is getting ready to roll out the red carpet for her sporting heroes in Birmingham, we must also be man enough to name and shame those who brought disgrace by performing the vanishing act to extend their stay in England.
The worst fears of the tour management came true when Sri Lanka hit the headlines for the number of people that went missing almost daily from the 160-member contingent that assembled for the XXII Commonwealth Games. 
Sri Lanka’s Chef-de-Mission Maj. Gen. Dampath Fernando (rtd), a former Sri Lanka Army Chief of Staff, had left no stone unturned to prevent such a scenario from happening.
But even the battle-seasoned Army officer was taken aback and unprepared for the devious methods used by athletes and an official no less to go missing from the Games Village which was scattered across four locations in two universities and two hotels.
Maj. Gen. Fernando was especially peeved when Lt Cdr Duminda Asela de Silva who was manager of the Judo team ran away with a 31-year-old judoka Chamila Dilani Marappulige after her loss in the opening round. “I am greatly disappointed with the irresponsible act of the manager of a discipline and naval officer,” said Maj. Gen. Fernando had set up communication lines with officials through WhatsApp to get regular feedback daily to tackle teething problems they encountered if any. The message was to be filtered down the line but warnings not to decamp and bring shame on the nation during the Games apparently fell on deaf ears. As sporting ambassadors of the nation, it is the responsibility of athletes to put their best foot forward to bring glory in the field of play and not make an exit through the back door whatever the circumstances. All participants for the Commonwealth Games had got six-month multiple entry visit visas as guests of the British government sponsored by the Commonwealth Games Federation.
On hindsight, it could be said that all members of the contingent could have been whetted to get a sniff of their real intentions or some mechanism brought in place to ensure they don’t smear the image of the nation during a major international event to seek political asylum or decide to seek greener pastures because of the prevailing economic crisis in the country.
The Sri Lanka tour management could only report anyone missing from the Village and hand over their respective passports if they had left them behind while it was a Catch-22 for the British Metropolitan Police since technically speaking they were guests of the nation for 180 days.
However, it was clear that news of players going missing from the Games Village had become a major distraction for the Sri Lanka team management after a wrestler Shanith Chathuranga who was tested Covid positive on arrival went for a walkabout to get some fresh air before leaving the isolation hotel while a boxer Niklas Vittalis performed the Houdini act after losing his preliminary bout. The Sri Lankan management put a gag on news about members of the contingent going missing and retaining the passports of players and officials as a precautionary measure. “We have asked all athletes and officials to submit their passports to our respective venue officials in all the villages after the incident,” Sri Lanka’s Press Attache Gobinath Sivarajah was quoted in The Sun.
At one time a meme during the rounds on social media highlighted the fact that the number of medals won by Sri Lanka at the Games equalled the number missing. When six more athletes decided to take flight much to the embarrassment of the tour management, they refused to divulge the names though it was an open secret. Sri Lanka’s strategy in public relations or damage control was non-existent during the Games failing to give a positive spin to the historic achievements of Sri Lanka’s medallists perhaps because the head of media in the National Olympic Committee failed to make the trip after he tested positive before departure. It was almost impossible for media personnel to be omnipresent at venues that were scattered across Birmingham, Coventry, and Edgbaston for 14 sports Sri Lanka took part in but a better strategy could have been evolved to disseminate information. Even the fact that a former NOC president Hemasiri Fernando was awarded life membership of the Commonwealth Games Federation at its Annual General Assembly held in Birmingham was not highlighted. Closing the doors after the horse has bolted or shooting the messenger is not the solution, tackling it with greater transparency whether it is “good, bad or ugly” as Maj. Gen. Fernando said, could avert rumor-mongering in the age of social media.