By Revata S. Silva
Ace-sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe on Thursday talked tough over the assault on Wednesday and said unless action is taken against ex-President of the Amateur Athletics Association Sunil Gunewardena she would retire from athletics soon.

Jayasinghe, the country’s only female athlete to win an Olympic medal, invited the media to her Borella residence and explained her side of the story regarding the alleged assault incident which took place near the Sports Ministry ground premises on Wednesday. She alleged that a fellow athlete named Ranga Wimalawansa who is currently under a ban on disciplinary grounds, threatened her life using foul language before pushing her and harassing by pulling her clothes.

"There were many others including my mother who was witness to the incident. I made a complaint at the Cinnamon Gardens police station," said Jayasinghe who charged that Gunewardena is behind the incident.

"This is a long standing enmity. He wants to stop me from participating in the next Olympics. He promotes only those trained by him. I ask what’s the justice in one being a coach while holding the presidency of the main athletic body. No one goes against him. He dictates under any government," she lamented.

Jayasinghe further said that its a pity that the country’s top athletes remain broken into various factions due to petty reasons. "The loss of unity will never bring good to our sports," she said.

Jayasinghe hopes that the newly elected government will come to her rescue. "Both the Prime Minister and his wife phoned me this morning. I know that the new Sports Minister had asked for an inquiry in to the incident. I hope they will take necessary action. If they are not able to provide a peaceful environment for me to do my practices, I will surely retire from the sport. You can’t be involved in sports while having death threats. I still think that if I can work under the right mental condition, I can bring the Gold medal next time," asserted Jayasinghe.

Meanwhile Minister of Sports Johnston Fernando in a statement said that he had personally visited the scene where the alleged assault took place and had taken immediate action to conduct a thorough investigation on the matter.