Captain Shemal Fernando has been appointed as the Chairman Athletics of the Defence Services Sports Board by Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, the Commander of the Navy in his capacity as the President of the Defence Services Sports Board.

A product of Royal College, Captain Fernando has rendered yeoman services for the upliftment of athletics at national level for well over a decade.

In 1995, he became one of the youngest ever to manage the National team in the annals of Sri Lanka athletics when he was entrusted with the duty for the Indonesian International Championships in Jakarta. He not only guided the Sri Lankan athletes to clinch the overall championship trophy but also won the admiration of the athletic fraternity for meticulous execution of the mission. Then President of AAA of Sri Lanka Mr. Sunil Jayaweera commended him for this feat and for the comprehensive Manager’s Report.

He was instrumental in revival of athletics at his alma mater Royal College as an enthusiastic pioneer of the Old Royalists Athletic Club in 1990’s. He represented Royal College in athletics in the golden era when Royal emerged victorious at Sri Lanka Schools Championships and Relay Carnivals repeatedly.

He won the accolades of many for dawning a golden era in the athletics for the Sri Lanka Navy. As the Chairman of Navy Athletics he has produced National Champions and National Record Holders over the past 10 years. Last year he guided the Sri Lanka Navy to win both the National Relay Championships and National Women Championships for the first time in her 52 year history.

Under his able leadership Navy produced her first Olympian at the recent Sydney Games. Naval athletes also represented the country at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships, SAF Games and numerous International Championships in the recent years.

He is a live wire of the renowned athletic club CT & FC and contributed immensely towards its success for almost a quarter century having joined the club as a student in mid 1970’s and held an array of appointments, in the Executive Committee.

Captain Fernando has followed a training course on Advanced Coaching at the prestigious Australian Institute of Sports in Sydney in 1995. He also has been to Athens, Greece to represent country at a world athletics event which enabled him to trace the history of the origin of Olympics in 2000.

An energetic and capable administrator, Captain Fernando conducted Sri Lanka Navy Athletic Championships in the recent years maintaining international standards and adding glamour with traditional Naval pomp and pageant. Athletes from the Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh Navies also took part in the Golden Jubilee Athletic Championships held in 2000.