• Insists Olympic House will cease to be a travel agency 
• Forensic audit reports to be released before the AGM

Seasoned sports administrator and business tycoon Shirantha Peiris yesterday (15) officially announced his candidature to contest the 25 April election of office bearers for the National Olympic Council of Sri Lanka (NOCSL).

Peiris who is also a Vice President of the outgoing Executive Board of the NOCSL is also the head of the National Shooting Sport Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF), besides being a keen sportsperson and one of the leading clay target shooters in the country.

“I decided to contest the presidency of the NOCSL with the intention of cleaning the image of all Olympic sports in this country,” Peiris told a news conference held at the Olympic House last morning, to brief the media of the decisions taken at the Special General Meeting (SGM) on Saturday (14).

“Most sports associations and officials are using such bodies as travel agencies. This is the plain truth and I intend to change this narrative under my leadership. It is with that in mind that I decided to throw my hat into the ring.”

Peiris who is due to take the baton from outgoing NOCSL President Suresh Subramaniam, maintained that the NOCSL under his stewardship will primarily and fundamentally serve the potential of aspiring sportsmen and women, and create the necessary systems for athletes to shine both locally and overseas.

“I will not compromise on that under any circumstance,” he emphasised. “The NOCSL will be there, but assure that this will not be used by officials as a platform for officials to enjoy foreign trips etc. That will be the last thing on our agenda after 25 April.”

He added that he was yet in the process of forming his committee to contest the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Olympic House.

However, he declared that he was publicly inviting the outgoing Secretary General Rifdy Fahmy and outgoing Vice President Niloo Jayathileke, to serve in the same posts under his administration as well, provided he is successful in winning the looming election.

NOCSL Secretary General Rifdy Fahmy stated that at the SGM held over the weekend, a three-member election commission had been formed headed by retired Supreme Court Justice K. T. Chithrasiri, with the others being Harsha Amarasekara PC and Attorney-at-Law Piyasena Ranasinghe, respectively.

Meanwhile, outgoing president of the Olympic House Suresh Subramaniam was optimistic that the final report of the ongoing forensic audit commissioned by the NOCSL with the blessings of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), could be released before the AGM.

The comprehensive forensic audit covers the period from 2015 to 2024 and is conducted by Moore Consulting.

“The draft reports for 2015, 2016 and 17 have already been received, while the remaining reports are expected to be submitted prior to the upcoming election,” observed Subramaniam.