COLOMBO, Apr 25 (ePRESS) – Asanga Seneviratne was elected President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Sri Lanka after securing a clear majority at the long-delayed Annual General Meeting held at the Duncan White Auditorium of the Sports Ministry in Colombo.
Seneviratne, the current President of the Sri Lanka Baseball Federation and a former Sri Lanka Rugby President, polled 16 votes out of 29 cast to defeat Football Federation of Sri Lanka President Jaswar Umar, who received 11 votes. Former Sri Lanka Shooting Federation President Shirantha Peiris managed only two votes. Out of 31 eligible votes, 29 federation representatives cast their ballots, with two abstaining.
The election ended months of delay, as the NOC AGM had originally been scheduled for December last year.
A former national ruggerite and cricketer, Seneviratne brings a strong sporting background to the top post. He represented S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia in cricket in 1983 and 1984 as a left-handed middle-order batsman. He also played rugby for the school, captaining the side in his final year and leading Colombo Schools to victory in the prestigious Gratien Cup final.
He later turned out for CR & FC for nearly a decade, captaining the Longden Place club in 1988 when they won the Clifford Cup. Seneviratne also represented Sri Lanka in international rugby sevens in 1991.
Moving into coaching, he guided the Army Sports Club rugby team to a runners-up finish in the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament in 2001 and a third-place finish in the A Division League.
Meanwhile, Rifdy Fahmy was elected General Secretary, while Iqbal Bin Issack, Sarath Hewavitharana, Ms Niloo Jayatilake and Prithiviraj Perera were appointed as Vice Presidents of the NOC.
Seneviratne’s election is expected to bring renewed direction to the country’s Olympic movement following a prolonged administrative delay.
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