• Bests Jaswar and Shirantha 

Contrary to popular belief, former Sri Lanka rugby star Asanga Seneviratne went against the grain and bested clear front-runner Jaswar Umar for the presidency of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL), at its election of office bearers for the 2026-30 four-year term on Saturday night (25).

Seneviratne, an ex-head of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) and the incumbent president of the Sri Lanka Amateur Baseball Softball Association (SLABSA)) polled 16 votes as opposed to 11 by Umar, who represented the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) and two votes by Shirantha Peries, the vice president of the SL Shooting Federation.

The former Sri Lanka, CR and FC and S. Thomas’ fly-half Seneviratne’s eventual triumph by five additional votes over the darling of the local sports media Umar, stunned the sports community with the latter perceived to be a shoo-in for the top post of the Olympic House in the lead up to the vote.

However as put succinctly by a veteran sports media pundit, Seneviratne, who virtually eschewed media publicity placing his trust firmly on member federations in comparison to his other two rivals, had pulled a rabbit out of the hat when it had mattered most.

“Thin this guy (Asanga) placed his confidence on federations and shunned any big-time media campaigns,” the critic who declined to be named said.

“That ultimately worked to his advantage and I also feel the Ministry also subtly backed him up with support from the outgoing head of the NOCSL. However, both Umar and Shirantha, thinking that they both had the requisite numbers went somewhat overboard with their respective media campaigns, which in the end proved to be in vain.” 

Seneviratne, who also excelled at domestic first-class level for the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) thus takes over the Olympic House from its outgoing president Suresh Subramaniam, who completed an eight-year tenure and was unable to seek reelection due to the new amendments introduced to the Sports Law.

The ex-sportsman Seneviratne who also has experience in the country’s corporate sector, will shortly assume the reins of the nation’s top Olympic controlling body at a key time for the Lankan sports arena, with preparations underway for forthcoming regional and international competitions.

The other two presidential candidates namely Jaswar Umar and Shirantha Peiris were both gracious in defeat, and insisted that they will continue to be committedly engaged in their respective sports, in an election where 29 sports associations attached to the NOCSL were eligible to vote.

“Winning and losing are part and parcel of sports and this is similar even in sports elections,” Umar, told reporters outside the Olympic House.

“I think God deemed that I was destined to be involved in football and so I will work even more diligently to take football further up both locally and overseas,” a philosophical FFSL head added, while commending the member federations who voted for him and the media for their support.

Umar however maintained that as of now he has decided not to contest any future NOCSL election, when asked whether he entertained any notion of running for office in four-years-time. 

“I never expected this result,” Peiris, who gained a modest two votes, asserted to reporters, also after the vote. 

“But that is the way this election panned out and we have to move on now. I will continue to be involved in sports irrespective of this outcome.”

Meanwhile, incumbent General Secretary of the NOCSL Rifdy Fahmy was reelected by 17 votes to 13 over Nishantha Piyasena who contested from the Jawar Umar camp, while representing the Modern Pentathlon Federation of Sri Lanka.

The NOCSL election was overseen by a three-member independent Election Commission helmed by retired Supreme Court Justice K. T. Chithrasiri. 

BOX THIS

NOCSL Office Bearers (2026-2030)

President

Asanga Seneviratne – (President – Sri Lanka Amateur Baseball/Softball Association) 

Vice Presidents

Niloo Jayatilake – (Member – Sri Lanka Golf)

Iqbal Bin Issack – (President – Sri Lanka Tennis Association)

Prithiviraj Perera – (Member – National Association for Canoeing and Kayaking in Sri Lanka)

Sarath Hewawitharana – (President – Wrestling Federation of Sri Lanka)

Secretary General

Rifdy Fahmy – (Member – Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union) 

Assistant Secretary

Ashmitha Gunaratne – (Secretary – Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka)

Treasurer

Lt. Col. Ajith Siyambalapitiya – (General Secretary – National Association of Fencing Sri Lanka) 

Assistant treasurer

Dasun Wijesinghe – (Treasurer – Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation)

Committee members

Pavithra Fernando – (President – Sri Lanka Rugby)

Danuna Tilakaratne – (President – Sri Lanka Climbing and Mountaineering Association)

Kosala Wickramanayake – (General Secretary – Sri Lanka Equestrian)