Ex-athlete Boteju wants the bluff to end | Sunday Observer

Ex-athlete Boteju wants the bluff to end

15 January, 2023
Ranjith Boteju-Ranjith Boteju with his trophy in bygone days
Ranjith Boteju-Ranjith Boteju with his trophy in bygone days

Former Sri Lanka athlete Ranjith Boteju wants a system change in sports administration to stay in sync with the rapid advancement of technology and keep pace with the developments in the digital age.

A household name in athletics during the early 1980s, Denzil Ranjith Boteju had the good fortune of coming under the wing of renowned coaches Anthony Abeysinghe, Carlton Seneviratne, Sunil Jayaweera and Sunil Gunawardena at various times in his career. But compared to modern day athletes, his training was primitive.

“I remember those days when we were asked to do strength training. We did it by pulling out weights and benches outside the Ministry of Sports at Torrington under a tree in the open air.

“Present day athletes are blessed with many things but performance-wise pathetic,” said Boteju who won two silver medals in the inaugural SAF (South Asian Federation) Games in Kathmandu in 1984 in the 100 metres and 4x100m relay.

“In the traditional way we cannot do many things. The world is moving very fast. By doing the same old things you are not going to succeed,” added Boteju, who migrated to the United States in 2000 and is based in Florida.

He was of the opinion that technology should be taken advantage of by athletes to analyse their performance. “Nowadays everything is available on a computer. How Usain Bolt has run, how these athletes are training. Those days we were not able to see anything,” he said.

“We have to think differently in this smart phone era. You have to identify top athletes and you have to give them a computer for analysis. It’s not only training. There are a lot of things on offer.

“Now it has gone beyond. You can google any question. If you want to cook chicken curry or how to fix your air conditioner, it’s there. You need a coach (for athletics) but you can learn a lot of things. You have to give those things to athletes, not only running gear,” said Boteju who grew up in an age even before emails were part of day to day life and quit athletics at a relatively young age of 24 largely due to injury.

However, he got into administration serving as Sports Secretary of Ace Athletic Club and consequently in the executive committee of the Amateur Athletic Association for nearly a decade during which time he represented Sri Lanka at the Youth Congress in IOAPA (International Olympic Academy Participants Association) in 1995.

A Public Schools coloursman in the Long Jump (21’ 6 1/2”) in 1978 bringing glory to his alma mater St Anthony’s College, Wattala, he was national champion in the 200m in 1983 and 1984 and ran for CT and FC and Ace Athletic club. His contemporaries were Hemalal Priyankara and Ravindra Kumar Fernando.

Boteju feels Sri Lanka Athletics needs people with visionary zeal. He was of the view that administrators should be more professional in their outlook and project managers should be appointed to scout talent.

“Sports Officers appointed by the Ministry of Sports have to do much more work. I know they are handling many sports but you have to appoint at least 10 or 20 people as project officers. It’s not only going to a meet. When you walk in Galle Face you can spot a guy or girl with good physique,” he said giving a classic example of how West Indian bowling great Joel Garner came to play cricket.

“He was spotted by a project officer when he was chopping sugar cane in a field. He was reluctant at first when he was asked to do sports. The project officer wanted to try him for bowling seeing him chopping sugar cane. Within a few months he played for the West Indies and the rest is history. He would have been lost to the world otherwise,” he added.

“Likewise, there is talent in Sri Lanka, we should not wait till that boy or girl comes to the Public Schools meet, National Sports Festival or National School Games to identify them. We should pick raw talent, cut and polish them like gems,” said Boteju.

He acknowledged that athletics was not a glamour sport like cricket but he felt more could be done to promote it as a recreational activity at grassroots level in the country. “If you go to any small village in Sri Lanka, there is a temple, church and mosque. Why can’t they have a small ground? You don’t need to have a 400m running track. A park with basic facilities to do some physical activity would do. There is a lot of Crown land available in the country. Sports officers can be utilized to conduct exercises,” he suggested.

He also wanted athletes to be prepared to face international competition dispelling the notion they are just making up the numbers. “In boxing, if you are not fit you can get knocked out. It is the same in athletics. It’s not just participation. You can’t say every day ‘we learn a lesson from the experience’,” he said cynically.

For that he urged the authorities to inculcate modern training methods for coaches and conduct more internationals for athletes such as triangular meets with India and Pakistan.

“We need to train a good number of coaches. It’s not just giving lectures here. We need to send them outside or provide them modern training. Hold more coaching camps, not to send them to Jamaica or some other place. There are also not enough meets for athletes,” he said.

“The world is moving very fast and has gone beyond our imagination. We have to try to go with them. At least then we will reach somewhere. Applying the same old methods won’t work,” reiterated Boteju whose profession as a real estate broker has taken him to 46 countries and broadened his horizons.

On promising athletes burning out early, he felt it was because they lacked proper guidance and coaches pushing them too much. “There is a lot of substance available. They have to be very careful. Unless you are really knowledgeable, they must not touch performance-enhancing substances which were not freely available those days,” warned Boteju.

At the same time, he urged athletes to stop complaining about the escalating cost of living. “There is no famine in the country. From 1970 to 1977 I remember food was rationed. We must learn to adapt by growing food stuff like manioc,” he said while adding that the food habits of Sri Lankans have to be changed from a young age since fast or junk food is available these days.

However, he lauded the courage of Sri Lankans who have the ability to perform under stress. “I am not saying without proper training we cannot win a world event but I know we can always be world beaters,” he said.

Boteju also suggested the services of former national stars be utilized to motivate the present generation, giving as an example how India beat South Africa in a cricket series in 2010 with the help of Swiss explorer Mike Horn.

“India hired Mike Horne to speak to the team one hour before the match. He has done marvellous things in cricket as a motivational speaker though he was a mountaineer and sailor. When you listen to him talking about touch-and-go situations, you feel goose bumps. He creates so much energy with his delivery that you can hit even a bull after that.

“Even in Sri Lanka there are many in their capacity who have done great things. You can use these people to speak to athletes to create that kind of momentum at that particular time. Even in rugby, boxing or any sport for that matter,” he suggested.

He also wanted Sri Lanka which is struggling to find another Susanthika Jayasinghe to take a leaf from India who have improved by leaps and bounds. Incidentally Adille Sumariwalla who won the gold medal for India at the 1984 SAF Games ahead of Boteju in the 100m final is the president of the Athletics Federation of India and was elected as one of the Council members of the IAAF.

Boteju, 62, for his part does not want to get involved in the politics of sport when he plans to return to the country in a couple of years.

“I want to devote myself not to elite schools in Colombo. I like to give my time to students or athletes, especially young ones who don’t have any means of reaching IT or any other things. I want to go to remote areas to give my knowledge and silently work in those areas coaching athletes here and there, teaching them English, sharing my experiences of different countries rather than get into official positions. It will be strictly free of charge,” he said humbly.

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