Shuttle tussle tomorrow
View(s):The spotlight falls on the keen tussle for the Presidency at the Sri Lanka Badminton Association Annual General Meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow (Monday) at the Badminton Headquarters, Torrington Square at 3.00pm.
Suraj Dandeniya
This close contest will be between the incumbent President Suraj Dandeniya and former President, National Champion, captain of the Sri Lanka Badminton team and current Council Member of the World Badminton Federation Prof. Ranjith Silva.
The AGM will be supervised by the National Olympic Committee and will be conducted by the Sports Development Department. The annual general meeting was planned earlier to be held on December 12, 2014, but the NOC Secretary Maxwell De Silva had pointed out that since at the end of December 2014, the Badminton Body will come to an end and fresh elections should be held and had advised them to hold the AGM during the new year 2015 and will take place according to the old nominations made for 2014.
Fifty one (51) District Associations have the right to vote at the AGM to elect new office-bearers including seven Vice Presidents.
Prof Ranjith Silva
When the Sunday Times contacted the incumbent president Suraj Dandeniya for a comment he declined. The other contestant Prof. Ranjith De Silva when contacted said that he came forward to contest on the request of a majority of the member associations. He said that his main duty will be to change the present system and introduce a new system to the uplift the game to be in par with international standards. He revealed during his tenure as the President from 2008 to 2010 with a set plan. For the first time in the 60-year history of Sri Lankan badminton at the Asian Continental Championships Sri Lanka won a gold, a silver, and two bronze medals whilst seven junior players bagged 12 medals. He also said that he is happy to state that for the first time scholarships were awarded to promising young players, for conducting the first ever Asian Umpires and Coaches Courses in Sri Lanka and was able to send players for championships abroad almost bi-monthly without charging any money from them. These players had secured the No.4 merit position in Asia in the Boy’s Singles at the Youth Olympics and the proudest moment was when Lankan shuttlers won eight medals at the South Asian Games and the completion of all legal steps necessary to administer badminton on a district basis. “These are some of the results that we achieved,” he concluded.
The badminton loving public along with the players is waiting eagerly to see that whoever is elected at the AGM that the game of badminton reaches the highest standards by helping to introduce more internationally renowned players.
- LR