Sports News from Sri Lanka: A contingent of 605 athletes is planned to take part in the South Asian Games (SAG) from 1 to 10 December. The total amount of representatives for the event, which could be around 200 to 250, has not yet been finalized.
Athletes from Sri Lanka will participate in sports including Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Cricket (T20), Cycling, Golf, Judo, Karate, Kabadi, Weightlifting, Pentathlon, Football, Rifle Shooting, Swimming, Squash, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Wrestling, Wushu, Fencing and Kho-kho.
There are presently a total of 1076 athletes in practice, with the pool to be picked up by September 15 to 800. The selection of the final squad will take place in mid-October.
A total of 235 medals were targeted at the SAG by the Ministry of Sports, which is expected to be 35 Gold, 75 Silver and 125 Bronze. The SAG’s last edition (2016) was held in India where Sri Lanka won 186 medals— 25 Gold, 68 Silver and 98 Bronze.
Rs. 16,773,000 has been spent by the Sports Ministry in training facilities to prepare for these matches. In addition, the SAG has been assigned an amount of Rs. 330 million to cover the costs of air tickets, lodging, sports gear, and other expenditures.
