The Hon. Sugath Thilakaratne - Deputy Minister of Sports
Deputy Minister Sugath Thilakaratne outlined increased financial support for athletes, stating that assistance has expanded from Rs. 10,000 for about 900 school-level athletes to tiered monthly payments of up to Rs. 100,000 for national-level competitors, with an additional Rs. 60,000 for nutrition. He said coaches are now also being paid at approximately one-third of the athlete support level. Addressing concerns about coaching standards, particularly in schools, he proposed bringing foreign coaches to Sri Lanka to train larger numbers of local coaches rather than sending small groups overseas.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Mr. Deputy Speaker, regarding support: while we began with Rs. 10,000 for around 900 school-level athletes, at national levels—Olympics, Asian, and Commonwealth tiers—we now provide up to Rs. 100,000 per month plus Rs. 60,000 for nutrition, totaling Rs. 210,000, across four bands (Rs. 100,000; Rs. 75,000; Rs. 50,000 for lower bands). We have also started payments to coaches at roughly one-third of the athlete’s support.
¶ 02 On coaching quality, especially in schools where some lack proper qualifications, we plan to bring foreign coaches here to train a larger pool of local coaches at once, rather than sending a few abroad.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 7 October 2025 ·No. 22573 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sugath Thilakaratne - Deputy Minister of Sports. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 7 October 2025. No. 22573. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/9941