Sri Lanka's first female Olympic medal-winner, sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe, on Friday threatened to quit athletics unless the authorities punished an athlete who beat her.
The controversial sprinter, who won bronze in the women's 200m at the Sydney Olympics last year, told reporters a male athlete attacked her on Thursday during training and she believed the assault could have been politically motivated.
"I will give up athletics if the sports ministry fails to hold an impartial inquiry and bring the guilty to justice," she said.
The 25-year-old said her appearance at a public stage with members of the former government during the election campaign late last month may have provoked the attack against her. She was not seriously hurt.
"I am not a supporter of the previous government, but I went for a function to open a sports stadium and not a political event," Jayasinghe said.
Early last year, she returned from the United States where she has been training following serious differences with Sri Lankan sports authorities she accused of trying to ruin her career.
In 1999, the IAAF abandoned its case against Jayasinghe who had failed a doping test.
The IAAF explained there were difficulties in making a legal case and that there were strong doubts that the Sri Lankan had breached anti-doping rules.
Jayasinghe had been banned after testing positive to taking the steroid nandrolone in April 1998, but the suspension was lifted four months later. Bureau Report