COLOMBO, Nov 11: More on Sri Lanka's sprint queen and it's best medal hope at the Sydney Olympics: Susanthika Jayasinghe's husband is an alleged murderer. Susanthika also says now that he is her coach and manager.

Kubukage Dhammika Nandakumara, who Susanthika says she secretly married three years ago, is the first accused in a murder case in Panadura, was recently released on bail by a magistrate in southern Sri Lanka after the World silver medallist signed a Rs (SL) 1 lakh bond on his behalf.

Nandakumara's passport was impounded on orders by the court as the police said they feared he was attempting to leave the country with his wife in order to avoid a pending trial before the province High Court.

However, the magistrate permitted the passport to be returned if he had plans to accompany Susanthika to athletic meets abroad. For this, he would first need the court's permission.

Nandakumara's alleged involvement in a murder case comes to light a few days after Susanthika said in an interview to a newspaper here that she feared for her life and her husband's from top sports officials in the country and that this had adversely affected her training schedule.

In the interview, she alleged that these officials wanted her to divorce her husband in order to further their ``personal wishes'' for ``close personal relations'' with her.

Though the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games are due next year, Susanthika said she had not begun training after returning from Athens, where she won a silver medal in the 200m at the World Athletics meet. ``At present, I am so disgusted with what is happening, I am not in a proper frame of mind to engage in any sporting activity,'' she said.

Though Susanthika has said that her parents knew about her marriage, her mother said a day after her victory at Athens that their daughter had a boyfriend who was a corporal in the army but she would marry him only after the 2000 Olympic Games.

Two months ago, it was revealed that Susanthika was a deserter from the army, but in order to avoid an embarrassing situation, she had been discharged soon after the disclosure with a ``services no longer required'' certificate.

While signing the bail bond for her husband, Susanthika said Nandakumara was her coach-cum-manager.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.