Mayumi tipped to lead team to Doha

COLOMBO: Breast stroke specialist Mayumi Raheem is tipped to lead the ten-member Sri Lanka swimming team at the 15th Asian Games to be worked off in Doha, Qatar later this year. After a meeting with local national sports associations and NOC Friday, it was decided that Sri Lanka should compete in 21 disciplines - archery, athletics, billiards & snooker, boxing, cycling, table tennis, tennis, karate-do, wushu, weightlifting, swimming, judo, chess, golf, sailing, rugby, badminton, rowing, gymnastics, shooting and beach volleyball. The strength of the Sri Lanka contingent, which is likely to have Susanthika Jayasinghe as the overall captain, will be around 160 - 130 competitors and 30 officials.
The Lankan swimming team will comprise eight competitors and two coaches. The 14-year-old Singapore-based schoolgirl, who bagged a record ten medals, including three gold, five silver and two bronze at last month's 10th South Asian Games in Colombo, is the most senior member in the Sri Lanka aquatic team, besides Milinda Wickremasinghe.
But Raheem, the only Sri Lankan competitor to win three gold medals in individual events at the 10th South Asian Games, is expected to be the popular choice, considering both experience and performance.
The golden girl of Sri Lanka swimming won three gold medals in 50m, 100m and 200m breast stroke events at the eight-nation Games. She is currently training in Singapore and is looking forward to win a medal for Sri Lanka at Doha Asian Games.
Wickemasinghe, who only won a bronze medal in men's 50m butterfly stroke, too has been included in the Sri Lanka team for the Asian Games. Besides Raheem, the brightest gold medal prospect for Sri Lanka at the 15th Asian Games in December will be back stroke specialist Andrew Abeysinghe.
The 15-year-old US-based prodigy, who won gold medals in men's 100m and 200m back stroke events at the SA Games, has confirmed his participation.
The other members of the Sri Lanka swimming team to Doha are SA Games double medallist in 50m back and 200m free style Heshan Unamboowe, double silver medallist in 50m and 100m free Daniel Lee, triple medallist Miniruwani Samarakoon and free style double medallist Imara Faheem.
Lee won silver medals in 50m and 100m finals at the SA Games while Samarakoon completed a triple with a silver in women's 100m butterfly and a bronze each in 50m and 200m butterfly stroke events. Faheem won women's 400m free style silver and 800m free style bronze at the Colombo Games.
An official of the SLASPU Interim Committee said last night that all individual medal winners for Sri Lanka at the 10th South Asian Games have been included in the Lankan team for the Asian Games.
The most notable absentee is Olympic swimmer Conrad Francis, who was overlooked for the South Asian Games as well. An official of the swimming union said yesterday that Australia-based Lankan swimmer has produced his Commonwealth Games timing last March in seeking a place in the Sri Lanka team for the Asian Games.
"Conrad (Francis) had stated that he had not taken part at a major event since the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne but is training at his Australian club ever since. Then we contacted the head coach of his Nuanawading Swimming Club in Australia who denied Francis' claim," he explained.
The official said they later got in touch with Francis to know the names of coaches there. "He gave two names and we contacted those coaches there. They only confirmed that Francis only trained at the club for two weeks after the Commonwealth Games. Hence, we can not give him a place in the team," he explained.