Suresh Subramaniam seeks National Olympic Committee presidency; elections set for 23 Feb.

Candidate for President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka Suresh Subramanium (centre) at the media briefing on Tuesday. Maxwell De Silva, Secretary General of National Olympic Committee and Asanga Seneviratne President of Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union were also present – Pic by Gitika Talukdar

Suresh Subramaniam on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the post of President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL), with the elections expected to be held on 23 February. 

All 31 federations under the NOCSL will get a vote each in a secret ballot. 

However, with the 9 February nomination deadline approaching no other contenders have thrown their hat into the ring, though the Daily FT understands that there is a possibility Rohan Fernando, the President of the Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka, may consider running. 

Nevertheless, the most likely scenario seems to be that Subramaniam, the CEO and Director of Arrow International Ltd., will run uncontested. Running alongside him will be incumbent NOCSL Secretary General Maxwell De Silva.

“On the request and invitation of former President Hemasiri Fernando I decided to contest. My main target is the Commonwealth and Asian Games, and of course the Olympics. We’ll take one at a time; first to qualify, then to go for medals. A lot to do but we will achieve it with the great team that is backing me,” said Subramaniam at a press briefing announcing his candidacy.

“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.  

As part of his vision, Subramaniam laid out a “roadmap” consisting of five points:

Aggressively support the national federations to help Sri Lankan athletes to qualify/win medals at the Commonwealth/Asian Games.

On the basis of merit, handpick a few sports and encourage their national federations with every possible support to achieve glory at the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers/medal events

Support national federations by helping them hire foreign coaches and sending deserving athletes for overseas training to the world’s best training centres.

Support national federations to develop their indigenous coaching pool and help train them under the most competitive educational environment 

Maintain high levels of accountability and transparency at all levels to root out any possibility of slowing down the growth process. 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.

Suresh is not only a 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 hardcourts, making a significant difference to the game.  He has also supported Golf in Sri Lanka by providing sponsorship to players.