The Hon. (Mrs.) Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Mr. Presiding Member, while many spoke about the reputational damage from doping, I wish to first applaud Sri Lanka Women’s fast bowler Udeshika Prabodhani, who, at age 40 years and 10 days, set the record as the fastest Sri Lankan woman to 100 ODI wickets during the ongoing Women’s World Cup in India. She shows that age is only a number, and that fair, clean competition brings glory.

¶ 02 Our policy platform “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life” devotes a chapter to sport, aiming to produce healthy, victorious citizens over the next five years. Sport brings pride to individuals and the nation, and builds balanced physical and mental health. Yet our country’s dreams were broken by decades of misgovernance, political interference, and urban-centric resource allocation that neglected villages and estates. We will keep reminding the nation of this 76-year legacy because the damage to sport was real.

¶ 03 Today’s Anti-Doping Amendment is one step within our 30-point action plan; Action 19 is to establish mechanisms to eradicate illegal drugs, match-fixing, and all fraud and corruption in sport. We intend SLADA to function actively and compliantly with WADA’s evolving Code to achieve multiple goals: not only participation, but winning cleanly; and positioning Sri Lanka as a host nation, attracting international investment. That requires modernizing our legal framework and institutional capacity with the right experts in the right roles.

¶ 04 We recognize youth drifting from sport into drugs and antisocial behavior. State institutions will work together to restore creativity and sporting spirit. Currently, 67 athletes across nine sports face bans for prohibited substances; in my own district, a 100m/200m sprinter is serving a six-year ban. We must identify whether violations were intentional or inadvertent and respond with education, training, and attitude change. A Rs. 10,000 stipend alone will not win Olympic medals, but without such support for nutrition and basics, even a university will not help. We must do both: immediate athlete support and long-term system-building.

¶ 05 Mr. Presiding Member, I have two more minutes remaining.