The Sri Lankan sports authority has a problem.
Their athletes keep disappearing.
They go to foreign countries to take part in sporting events, then promptly run away.
Usually, they go to Italy, where they end up spinning pizzazz, or working in departmental stores.
During a 1993 sporting event in Canada, only one of the Sri Lankan teams 11 members came home.
The rest, including a number of members of the Wrestling Federation of Sri Lanka, just disappeared.
During the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea, a hockey player and a beach volleyball player went missing.
Then, the Sri Lankan team would fly to Germany, for a 10-match tournament.
Wijenayaka had only a few weeks to get the Sri Lankan players ready for their friendly with the Germans.
Practices were held a few times a week, where the players learned the basics.
None of them had any handball experience, but it was not necessary to be proficient at the game.
They only need to appear like they knew what they were doing.
His brother promised to pay for the expenses to bring Chandana to Italy.
Once Chandana found employment, he was to pay his brother back.
For now, all he needed to do was learn to play handball.
Chandana had never played handball before, but he did play volleyball in high school.
That was all Chandana could remember.
At the exhibition match, the German handball team thrashed the host team 36 to 2.
The team went sightseeing.
Then they met the mayor of the town, took photos and had dinner with their German counterparts.
We sang and danced and had a great time, said 23-year-old Rupasinghe.
On the first game, the team was hammered again.
This time, the Sri Lankans didnt score a single point.
The German handball team playing a friendly match with the host Sri Lankan team.
We had a very great time in this place, said Rupasinghe.
Felt a bit sorry as we all planned to go the next day, very early in the morning.
They left behind a note, thanking the Germans for their hospitality.
“We’re going to France,” it said.
In reality, they were all going to Italy.
Italian people are very friendly, and they like us to work in their restaurants.
Sri Lankans in Italy have no problems with the police.
We arent involved in drugs or any other criminal activities.
The note left behind by the vanished handball team.
The media immediately began questioning: Is Doering the mastermind behind the disappearing act?
Doering was extremely let down by the incident.
“This will be the last time we will be doing this.
I am not planning to invite any more teams from Sri Lanka,” he said.
No more teams got visas thereafter, he said.
Thats the sad side of the whole thing.
Within a decade, more than half of the 23 Sri Lankan handball players had returned home.
I came back after six months, says Chandana.
My child was sick.
I couldnt find a job, though it was promised.
I wrote a letter to Mr. Doering and asked for forgiveness.
Rupasinghe worked in a pizzeria as a pizza baker for four years, before returning back to Sri Lanka.
It was out of necessity.
And everyone of those players sent money back to their families, every month.
He Disappeared, Like Many Before Him.,VICE# Sri Lanka handball team vanishes,BBC
