Olympian Sunil Gunawardana to contest SLA Presidency

By Susil Premalal

Veteran Sri Lankan athlete and Olympian Sunil Gunawardana has announced his readiness to assume the presidency of Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) in the upcoming administrative term, expressing his willingness to lead the country’s premier athletics body.
Gunawardana, a prominent international-level athlete from the 1970s, has also served as a national athletics coach and a former SLA administrator. He revealed that he decided to accept the request of a majority within the athletics community to contest for the SLA presidency and contribute to the development of the sport.
Sunil Gunawardana has served as SLA president for a brief period several 
years ago.
The current SLA president, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Palitha Fernando, is unable to seek re-election for the forthcoming term due to changes in the sports law’s latest amendments, which disqualify him from contesting again. As a result, Sunil Gunawardana is expected to submit his nomination for the post.
Gunawardana and his team have reportedly decided to submit nominations for the upcoming SLA election, which is scheduled to be held on  August 16.
This move is seen as a significant development in the administration of Sri Lanka’s athletics, as many in the fraternity look forward to renewed leadership under an experienced former athlete and administrator.