Rohan de Silva: Corruption and swindling not his game | Sunday Observer

Rohan de Silva: Corruption and swindling not his game

20 February, 2022
Rohan de Silva trains six days a week
Rohan de Silva trains six days a week

The one time Formula racer now runs a trouble-free badminton association that has made him a role model and his entity a cut above the corruption-riddled sports bodies in Sri Lanka:

It is the norm in Sri Lanka for sports officials of national sports bodies to hang on to the reins of power as if their very lives or perhaps their livelihood depended on it. Like so-called ‘honourable’ politicians who feed on the misery of their electorate projecting themselves as messiahs, sports administrators adorn the ‘honorary’ title to show they are holding office because they want to serve the sport they love.

Of course there is no mention of the perquisites, foreign trips, status symbol or the funds acquired in the name of development. It is very rare to find selfless individuals who are committed and are not greedy for power.

Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) president Rohan de Silva, a dynamic entrepreneur and business practitioner with over 40 years of experience in varied business activities, is one such exception. He took charge when the sport was in the doldrums and plagued by internal squabbles being run by an interim committee before elections were called by the Sports Minister. Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from doing more for the sport, he ended the chaos that prevailed bringing sanity and respectability to the manner in which SLB functioned. More importantly he injected much needed funds by securing corporate sponsors to shore up the sport.

Having accomplished his mission for which he was elected to office, Rohan de Silva does not want to overstay his invitation. Although there are requests for him to continue as SLB President, he feels there are capable people who can take over the baton and continue the restructuring process which he initiated.

“There are seven VPs (vice presidents) who are very good in knowledge of the sport and administration. All of them had a big drawback because they couldn’t get the sponsors. That’s why I will sign up before I step down officially for three years with sponsors, of course with certain conditions. Spending must be for the game and not welfare,” said De Silva who wants to ensure a smooth succession.

“I will help the people who are running it after me to continue the good work for at least another three years. Lot of interest has been shown by companies, banks, other institutions for involvement in badminton. There are nearly 20,000 people playing badminton including children. We have done a survey and up to now there are nearly 500 badminton courts in Sri Lanka,” said De Silva who heads the McLarens Group as Chairman and is responsible for group profitability and business development.

“When I came into the badminton scene as president, I assured them that I would be there for two years but because of this covid, I agreed to stay on for three years. My intention is to step down in June but I will continue to be a major sponsor for badminton and also support in sub committees like tournament, training, coaching, promotion and regional development. Even as an outsider they can appoint me,” he said.

“I managed to bring the sponsors in. The biggest sponsors are McLarens Group of Companies. The biggest drawback has always been finance. The sports ministry, BWF and Badminton Asia have also helped us in terms of finance, training, and giving quality knowledge to us. We also got a badminton equipment sponsor Li Ning. They have been very supportive to us,” he said.

“Our focus has been on development at all levels. During the first six months in 2019, we had seven tournaments. We concentrated on local tournaments. They were all conducted in a very efficient manner with the provincial associations assisted by SLB. I brought in a lot of sponsorship to have quality playing, quality judging, and quality courts. We bought software from BWF (Badminton World Federation), our principal, to update results quickly and plan matches on schedule. Over a thousand take part in national level tournaments. It goes on for a week or even more. In this latest software that we have they can programme the matches well in advance. In the past, parents have to bring the children and wait. They don’t know what time the match is being played. Sometimes it is postponed for the next day,” he explained.

“We also reorganised the badminton administration office. We have proper staff now to handle various logistics and correspondence. That assisted the organisation of the game very well. Then we refurbished the entire badminton court at Maitland Place, conference rooms and of course the office. It is equivalent to a five-star hotel,” he said.

Like most sports, badminton was disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic with local programmes being affected. “However we managed to finance and sponsor Niluka (Karunaratne) and somehow got him qualified to play in the Olympics. That was achieved. Last year we also sent other players like Sachin Dias, Buwanaka (Goonetilleke), Ranthuskha (Karunatilleke), Thilini (Hendahewa) and Kavindi (Sirimannage) for overseas tournaments,” De Silva said.

SLB have also secured the services of a reputed Indonesian coach Jeffer Rosobin and an assistant coach Saehul Islam who have been signed up for two years. The results have been instant. Sachin Dias and Thilini Hendahewa clinched a historic gold medal in the Mixed Doubles at the Odisha Open Super 100 badminton tournament in Cuttack, India. Dias partnered by national champion Buwaneka Goonetilleke also won a bronze medal in the Men’s Doubles.

In fact Rohan de Silva has been a lucky talisman for Sri Lanka badminton. Under his watch Sri Lanka’s women’s Doubles pair of Thilini Hendahewa and Kavindi Sirimannage won a gold medal in the 2019 Kathmandu South Asian Games for the first time.

“At the moment we are working very hard with the foreign coach. The Commonwealth Games is our target. We are very confident that we will have a medal there,” said the SLB president whose dream is to build an international stadium for badminton in the future.

“I will do it when I step down and have time to devote to building a badminton complex. That is a must if you want to go internationally,” said De Silva who has been a regular in the World Masters Badminton circuit winning gold medals in Thailand, USA, Taiwan, Spain and London in the men’s Doubles partnering Indonesian national Frits.

Having been a motor racing champion driving Formula modified cars in the Open category, badminton is not a new-found passion. “I have been playing badminton for about 40 years but I started playing tournaments only when I was 40 becoming champion in all Masters age groups,” said the 69-year-old who trains in badminton six days a week.

Asked whether he had unfinished business as SLB president, De Silva said: “This is a long journey. There is much more to do. I think that you can do much more. Training coaches, regional development and tournaments must all go hand in hand.”

As to whether he would reconsider his decision to step down as SLB president, De Silva said: “I have my plans also. I have to take care of McLarens Group. I am serving in several government boards. I need a lot of time for that.”

 

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