Sunil Gunawardena claims he’s in a one-horse race

By Susil Premalal

Sunil Gunawardena

Former Asian Games gold medallist and veteran athletics administrator Sunil Gunawardena says the upcoming Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) election poses no challenge to him and his team.

The SLA election for the 2025–2027 term is scheduled to be held tomorrow at the Duncan White Auditorium of the Ministry of Sports. The election comes after a period during which the administration of Sri Lanka Athletics remained inactive for some time.

The contest for the president’s post is expected to be a two-way race with Gunawardena running against veteran business administrator Bimal Wijayasinghe.

Gunawardena, who has been involved in Sri Lanka’s athletics field for more than five decades, has contributed as an athlete, coach and administrator, producing several international-level medal-winning athletes, including an Asian Games gold medalist.

Speaking ahead of the election, Gunawardena said he has no need to conduct media shows or publicity campaigns, as he is widely known across all sections of the athletics community. 

He expressed confidence that the victory of his group is already certain, claiming that they have the support of the majority within the athletics fraternity.