Roshan Gunawardena officially takes over as Head of Sri Lanka Badminton

Monday, 26 May 2025 01:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Roshan Gunawardena was elected uncontested as the new President of Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), after he was unanimously chosen by the membership to lead the association for the period of 2025-27 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held at The Kingsbury hotel in Colombo on 24 May.

His takeover of the leading position of SLB was made official following the well-attended AGM.

Gunawardena, the outgoing Vice President of SLB, and also the Chairman of the Regional Development Committee under departing SLB Head Rohan de Silva, also served as the President and at various positions during the past couple of decades. He has been serving towards the growth of badminton in Sri Lanka for many years, while serving under different capacities at SLB.

“I pledge to continue the same exercise we adopted as a team under the leadership of Rohan de Silva, who gladly invited me to take up the top position of SLB. I’m sure, as a team, we were able to take the sport beyond the expected boundaries, while introducing the sport to untouched areas and bringing glory through our highly skilled athletes. I’m sure we will be able to take badminton beyond where it is currently with new and collective ideas,” Gunawardena stated.

Outgoing President Rohan de Silva will continue his commitment and contribution towards badminton and SLB as the Immediate Past President, while Ajith Wijesinghe took helm as the Secretary General. Mangala Gamage filled the position of Treasurer.

“The journey has been a wonderful one, where we were able to witness a few high-profile international events being hosted by Sri Lanka, which definitely contributed to the popularity of the sport in the outstations. One of our own earning direct qualification to the Paris Olympics was indeed a highlight, in addition to the uncountable number of international medals won by our dedicated and spirited athletes. I always craved to see Sri Lanka achieve greater heights in badminton, locally and internationally, and we did manage that part as a unit. I promise to be the pillar of strength in time to come, to see badminton reach even greater heights,” stressed de Silva during his speech.

Buddhika de Silva, Mohan Wijesinghe, Dinesh Jayawardana, Aliyar Faizer, Roshan Fernando, Chamara Aluthge and Keshara Wettimuni were elected unanimously as Vice Presidents for the upcoming tenure, which ends in 2027. Jaliya Jayasekara and Lakshmi Punchihewa fill in the two positions for Assistant Secretary, while Renu Chandrika de Silva and Sadeep Ratnayake were elected as the two officials who would take over the Assistant Treasurer positions.

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