Susanthika returns home, targets gold at Athens

Sports Minister SB Dissanayake was conspicuously absent from the welcome ceremony.

In sharp contrast, Dissanayake had led a similar victory parade for Jayasinghe when she returned to the island after winning silver at the 1997 World championships in Athens.

Jayasinghe stopped at several towns along the way and offered yellow ribbons to her fans symbolising a campaign here for free and fair elections at the October 10 parliamentary elections.

Jayasinghe wore a yellow ribbon in her 100m and 200m events defying team officials who objected to her making a political statement at the Sydney Games.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake criticise Jayasinghe for sporting a “yellow ribbon.” He said she could have beaten Marion Jones to the gold if she had not worn the band.

Jayasinghe later dropped a political bombshell at a press conference in Sydney accusing a senior minister of trying to have sex with her and trying to ruin her career after she turned down his advances.

The government-controlled Daily News on Monday accused Jayasinghe of talking out of turn at a press conference which the paper said had been called “to fete the gold medallist Marion Jones.”

The government-run paper said Jayasinghe had reportedly said: “Find me another country.”

However, Jayasinghe on Tuesday denied she was planning to leave the country and said she was determined to win a gold for Sri Lanka at the next Olympics.

For the first time since a sexual scandal broke out after Jayasinghe won silver in the 1997 Athens World championships, she named the minister as being her “sexual tormentor,” press reports here said on Sunday.

There has been no reaction from the Sports ministry or the government to the allegations, which until Jayasinghe’s latest public remark were disguised as innuendo.

The Sunday Times launched a scathing attack on Sri Lanka’s Sports ministry for the way it had mistreated Jayasinghe in the run up to the Olympics and demoralised her with statements that she would never do well.

The Sunday Island newspaper supported Jayasinghe while slamming the government.

Though memories may be short, all the people have not forgotten those insults heaped on Susanthika not so long ago like that infamous remark by a political VIP (in the present government) who likened her to a black African male,” The Sunday Island said.

“The intent (of the VIP) was to insult although the question that naturally arises is what is wrong in being a black African,” The Sunday Island said.

Jayasinghe’s bronze in the women’s 200 metres goes down in history books here as the country’s first Olympic medal won by a woman and only the second ever by a Sri Lankan since Duncan White won silver in the 400m men’s hurdles at the 1948 London Games.