Veteran boxing administrator Dian Gomes and the newly elected president of the Sri Lanka Hockey Federation (SLHF) Senior Superintendent of Police Kamal Pushpakumara are among two high-profile candidates whose nominations have been rejected for the December 28 NOCSL (National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka) elections.
Gomes and Pushpakumara were to contest for the post of vice president from the group headed by Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) president Maj. Gen. Palitha Fernando who is challenging the incumbent NOCSL president Suresh Subramaniam for the top post. Eight nominations have been received for four positions of vice-president.
The nominations of Manoj Karunarathne and Dammika Karandenigoda from the Archery Association who were to contest for the post of Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer respectively have also been rejected.
The decision of the three-member Election Committee comprising former secretaries to the Ministry of Sports has been accepted but officials from the Palitha Fernando camp accused the present administration of the NOCSL of indulging in skullduggery ahead of Tuesday’s election of office-bearers for a new four-year term.
There has been a running battle between Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) president Gomes and the NOCSL which has been barred from voting at their meetings ostensibly because he was accredited as ‘cornerman’ during the 2018 Commonwealth Games although he is not a professional coach. Ironically Gomes is a former vice-president of the NOCSL and also serves on the executive committee of the International Boxing Association (IBA).
A former NOCSL official said Gomes has become the victim of unfair castigation. SLHF president Pushpakumara has been disqualified due to a technical glitch because he has not been mentioned as a delegate for the elections.