The Sri Lanka National Cycling Federation has faced numerous setbacks after the international cycling governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), decided to recognize Navaratnarajah Karunaratne and his associates. These individuals had been ousted following an administrative action by the Ministry of Sports, which conducted a thorough inquiry into their financial irregularities while in office.
Leveraging his influential contacts within the Asian Cycling Confederation, Karunaratne convinced the UCI that his removal was a politically motivated act by the Minister of Sports and that third parties were meddling in his federation’s affairs. In reality, Karunaratne and his associates were embezzling funds, leaving the federation bankrupt after two years in office. This financial mismanagement resulted in the inability to hold the National Championships in 2019 due to the lack of a sustainable financial plan.
The federation’s accounts were never disclosed to its members and were not adopted at the Annual General Meeting, as Karunaratne avoided holding AGMs during his tenure. Consequently, members lodged complaints with the Ministry of Sports, which, after due process, took administrative action to remove Karunaratne. Despite this, Karunaratne, with the assistance of NOC Secretary General Maxwell De Silva, managed to maintain his position as President of the Cycling Federation. Due to this reason the Cyclists have not received an opportunity to compete internationally since 2021.
When the police arrested Karunaratne and his associates for failing to hand over federation property to the duly elected office bearers, however he managed to secure bail from the Colombo Magistrates Court using a letter issued by Maxwell De Silva (Sec.Gen NOC).
Previously a staunch rival of Karunaratne and a close associate of Secretary General Maxwell, Nishantha Piyasena has now aligned with his former adversary to destabilize the Cycling Federation once again. This time, he has the strong backing of Karunaratne’s followers. In a classic power move, Piyasena orchestrated a coup within the Federation last March by proposing Thissa Ekanayake, a retired high court judge, as the Chairman of the Elections Commission.Although this attempt was unsuccessful, Piyasena’s supporters managed to sabotage federation meetings, forcing the Executive Committee to adjourn abruptly.
This disruption delayed the election process, compelling the Ministry of Sports to dissolve the federation and place the elections under the Director General of the Department of Sports Development.
Piyasena, along with Secretary General Maxwell De Silva, Treasurer Gamini Jayasinghe, Malinga Fernando, Dinesh Krishantha, and Suranjith Premadasa, are key allies in a syndicate within the National Olympic Committee currently under investigation for corruption, fraud, racketeering, forgery, and human smuggling.
To maintain their hold on power, they covertly manipulate federation elections to install their own puppets, offering incentives like foreign trips in return for their loyalty.
This time, the Cycling Federation became the prime target of the Maxwell-Piyasena nexus, who know the intricacies of the game well. Once the election was announced, Piyasena assembled an elite team of professionals to run on his ticket. This intricate plan likely involved participants unaware that they were being used by Piyasena to destabilize the Cycling Federation, allowing the Maxwell-Piyasena nexus to seize complete control.
The top candidate for the Presidency of the Cycling Federation on Piyasena’s ticket was retired DIG KPP Pathirana. Pathirana proved valuable to the nexus when the Secretary of Dance Sport and Media Manager of the NOC, Sivarajah Gobinath, was arrested last month while attempting to flee the country at Katunayake airport.
It was reported that Pathirana, leveraging his old police connections, made considerable efforts to persuade the police to grant bail for Sivarajah Gobinath. Pathirana had been the strongest rival to Karunaratne over the past two decades in cycling administration, holding the presidency for over 12 years and defeating Karunaratne at least twice. Piyasena also secured the support of his former allies, now in high positions, to run on his ticket, possibly without their full understanding of his motives. Brigadier Chaminda Kalutharaarchchi of the Army, Air Vice Marshal Roshan Biyanwila, who now heads the Civil Security Department, and DIG Sampath Kumara Liyanage, who was appointed Chairman of Police Cycling, all consented to join the ticket aimed at bringing the Cycling Federation under the control of the Maxwell-Piyasena nexus.
To fund the campaign, Piyasena enlisted the help of businessman and politician Nimal Bulathsinghala.
Anticipating that his team’s applications would be rejected due to their lack of qualifications in cycling sport or administration, Piyasena had another trick up his sleeve to navigate this obstacle.
Using Bulathsinghala as an intermediary, Piyasena sent a request to Minister Harin Fernando seeking special approval for these candidates to contest. This was a masterstroke for the Maxwell-Piyasena nexus. With this maneuver, Piyasena’s candidates would not only secure the votes of Karunaratne’s allies but also garner support from the Army, Civil Security Department, Police, and various other government-affiliated clubs.
This maneuver was shaping up to be a walk in the park for Piyasena, who wasn’t even contesting for a position himself. However, what Piyasena didn’t anticipate was that the gazette published by Minister Harin Fernando on May 3, 2024, introduced an additional obstacle for KPP Pathirana.
Furthermore, the minister remained steadfast in his decision to dissolve any sports federations that failed to hold elections by May 31. True to his word, he refrained from interfering in federation politics by not granting special approvals for complete outsiders to enter the sports federations, likely facing opposition from other parties eager to contest.
The other factor was that Since 2021 Karunaratne supporters were ignoring the Cycling Federation and they did not attend meetings and therefore, legally their voting rights could be annulled as per the constitution. Retired DIG KPP Pathirana’s candidacy was shot down by the 5 member elections commission headed by Justice Sarath Edirisinghe, a retired high court judge, due to the fact that Pathrina had been the President of the federation for more than 12 years in the past.
The candidacies of Nimal Bulathsighnala, Brigadier Chaminda Kaluthararachchi, Air Vice Marshal Roshan Biyanwila, and DIG Sampath Kumara Liyanage were also disqualified due to their failure to provide credentials demonstrating their eligibility according to the sports regulations and the federation’s constitution.
Additionally, many of Piyasena’s other supporters had not conducted their AGMs on time and lacked the basic knowledge required to submit credentials for voting rights. Most of these supporters represent clubs that exist only in name, with no actual members or athletes in elite categories.
