Susanthika does a turnaround

Sri Lanka's sole medal winner at the Sydney Olympic Games Susanthika Jayasinghe has done a turnaround, denying having ever accused Sports Minister S B Dissanayake of sexually harassing her.

"I only said that a high ranking Sports Ministry official harassed me, but I never mentioned the name of the minister to the international media," the star athlete was quoted by the official Sri Lankan media on Wednesday.

Susanthika was extensively quoted in the local media in the last few days as having accused Dissanayake -- at a press conference in Sydney after winning the bronze medal in the 200m sprint -- of trying to force her into having sex with him.

"The minister ... the big guy... he wants sex with me but I refused. I have a husband," she reportedly told the press conference. "It was trouble for me, including doping and sexual harassment after I won the World Championship in 1997," she added.

However, she told the official media here that she had been misquoted. "I am not very competent in English. Hence, they must have misunderstood and misquoted me," she was quoted as saying.

The 24-year-old Sri Lankan athlete caused more ripples on Wednesday when she publicly turned down the scholarship offered by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to undergo training in any part of the world.