Long standing general secretary of Sri Lanka Athletic (SLA) Prema Pinnawala has decided to retire after 50 years (1973-2023) of service in athletics.

Pinnawala has taken the decision because of personal reasons and resigned from the post of SLA Secretary from 1st February 2023.

Prema Pinnawala, who served as the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Srilanka (NOCSL) for 13 consecutive years from 1984 to 1997, can be called a veteran sports administrator who pioneered the establishment of the South Asian Games. He played a big role in Sri Lanka hosting 1991 and 2006 SAF Games in addition to getting the opportunity to stage the Asian Athletic Championship (Junior and Senior).

Having done athletics, cricket, boxing and football during his school and university days, Pinnawala served as the President of National Services Athletic Association and National Service Hockey Association for more than 10 years.

During his previous tenure as secretary of NOCSL and SLA, he played a key role to provide many privileges for sports in this country by working closely with the IAAF, IOC, and AAA (Asian Athletic Association) administration. He is the only sports administrator in Sri Lanka to have participated as an official in NOCSL or SLA from the 1984 Seoul Olympics to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Prema Pinnawala was recently awarded a Honorary Life Member Award by NOCSL for his service to Sri Lankan sports. By Susil Premalal