Badminton: BWF bans Sri Lanka Badminton

The membership of Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) has been suspended by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday (22).   The BWF has cited that government interference on badminton in Sri Lanka as a serious concern for this decision in the midst of the Sports Law of the country is being revived by the Ministry of Sports officials.   “BWF hopes that the promised revisions to the Sri Lanka Sports Law will be presented as promised latest by June 30, 2015 and that this means that a process can be initiated to get the governance structures around badminton in Sri Lanka brought up to date. If this does not happen, then BWF however sees no other option than to suspend the SLBA until an acceptable governance structure is established,” Thomas Lund, the General Secretary of BWF had earlier warned through a letter SLBA in June.   The ban will now bar Sri Lankan shuttlers from taking part in any international events and it may affect the possibilities of Sri Lanka’s participation at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.