Sports and Public Recreation Minister Gamini Lokuge last Friday (20) ratified five names nominated by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) for the new National Tennis Selection Committee.

Sports ministry sources told ‘The Island’ yesterday that the new National Tennis Selection Committee, appointed for a one year period, would be headed by Suresh Subramaniam, who held the post of president SLTA for six years.

Subramaniam stepped down from the Presidency in 2007 following an uninterrupted tenure where he was appointed president SLTA, uncontested. He is also the present Gen. Secretary of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF).

Subramaniam was involved in a bitter power struggle for the control of the SLTA early last year that resulted in Minister Lokuge intervening to appoint an Interim Committee for tennis under the then President Janaka Bogollagama.

Minister Lokuge said recently that he had to appoint an interim body to control tennis last year because there were irregularities regarding clubs making nominations at last year’s SLTA AGM. Later, the interim administration revealed that such irregularities were caused by some members of the SLTA who were well known confidantes of Subramaniam.

The Sports Ministry also said there were ten names nominated by the SLTA for the ensuing National Selection Committee. Out of those ten, five names were ratified early this month by a special committee, the National Sports Selection Committee, headed by Indra de Silva, which endorses nominations made by various sports associations for their selection committees before they are ratified by the Sports Minister.

The members of the newly appointed Tennis National Selection Committee are Suresh Subramaniam (Chairman), Iqbal Bin Izzaq, Ayendra Bandaranaike, Rohan de Silva and Dinali de Silva.