By Karuppiah Ramakrishnan
Renowned sportsman, Tennis Champion and experienced administrator, Suresh Subramaniam, announced on Tuesday that he will contest for the position of President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka at the elections scheduled to be held early 2018. Nominations will be accepted on 23 January.
The President of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) Asanga Seneviratne will be contesting the post of Vice President, while most controversial General Secretary Maxwell de Silva will contest for the post of General Secretary once again.
Sri Lanka’s National Olympic Committee is required to comply with instructions issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the elections will be conducted as per the Olympic Charter.
Suresh who has achieved many accolades in a range of sports from his school days at Royal College, Colombo has been awarded for the service to the game by the International Tennis Federation and has been the uncontested Secretary General of the Asian Tennis Federation since 2006 and was recently appointed as the Federation’s Vice President. He has been the uncontested President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association from 2002 to 2007. During his tenure in both, the Associations were recognized as the best run in the world by the International Tennis Federation. Most importantly, he was the Chairman of the Selection Committee for Tennis from 2009 to 2012. He has also been the Chairman of the Selection Committee for Lawn Bowls.
“I look forward to contributing to the nation’s sports by introducing effective initiatives to motivate our talented sports men and women and ensuring good governance at all times. I am confident that the Olympic Committee has potential in the future to bring greater honour and fame to Sri Lanka,” commented Suresh.
Suresh is not only tennis pro of distinction, he was ranked No.1 in Sri Lanka for Singles and Doubles in 1981. He was the Davis Cup Captain in 2002 and was Coach and Pool Member in the eighties. He was awarded the Hardin Grant by the ATF for achieving excellence in Tennis.
Suresh has been responsible for significantly uplifting sports in Sri Lanka via several initiatives. He re-introduced Wheelchair Tennis for war victims in the Army, and also paved the way for hearing impaired children at the Deaf and Blind School, Ratmalana, to have access to tennis courts. He has uplifted the lives of several ‘ball boys’ who had potential to become professional coaches in tennis. He facilitated the transformation of clay courts at SLTA into all-weather hard courts, making a significant difference to the game. He has also supported Golf in Sri Lanka by providing sponsorship to players.
Suresh was appreciative of the outgoing President, Hemasiri Fernando and said, “He has been very supportive of my decision to contest for Presidency and will remain in the position of Honorary President of NOCSL and Vice President in the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Commonwealth Games Federation. A veteran sports administrator, Hemasiri has held the position of President of NOCSL for 22 years and has announced that he will not run for the position again.”
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