Shirantha’s record takes him to unfamiliar terrain
Shirantha Peiris - Pic by Amila Gamage
When Shirantha Peiris took the reign as the President of the National Shooting Sports Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF) a year ago not only he created a record, for being the first from the civil society to do so, but he also was subjected to unexpected battles. The core setback Peiris and his set of duly elected administrators had was the lack of a national shooting range but they were hampered by a legal battle, which he terms as totally unnecessary. Despite the legal catastrophe, which prevented Peiris and his team of administrators to conduct their day-to-day activities as an elected sport governing body, they have managed to secure a plot of land to build up a fully fledged national shooting range, which he intends to make available to the shooters of Sri Lanka before the end term.
But the devastating journey of the incumbent NSSF Committee would have been the golden era of shooting sports in Sri Lanka if not for the legal holdup, which prevented the sport from making a good progress. “The legal case, which is still ongoing and all negative, is a total waste of valuable time we can work for the betterment of the sport and the energy we intended to throw in. It’s a pity, not to have been able to fully implement the development plans we intended to carry out for shooting and the poor athletes,” Peiris lamented. Peiris, being a successful businessman himself, running a multi facet group of companies with highly qualified professionals, has been the target of a few individuals whereas his target was to shoot rifle shooting to greater heights.
But a man of his words and being a practical individual that he is, Peiris knows the clear difference between his successful business and the tangled sports body he is heading, with his hands tied. “Running my business is not a challenge compared to running the NSSF. In my business I have got professionals and experts who are capable of making decisions, and once they are approved those decisions are carried out without any interruption by the staff from the time of implementation. At the NSSF it’s about a set of volunteers doing an honorary job, and also it’s run by committees of volunteers. We have to entertain more diverse views when we come to resolve a certain issue, which makes tasks at associations and federations more challenging”, he explained.
Being the first civilian to head and run the NSSF since the 1970s, Peiris understands the responsibility and trust vested on him and his committee. But sadly, just weeks after his election somewhere in May 2015, a former official of NSSF, who contested alongside Peiris and lost the battle to the hierarchy, made a case and brought an injunction order from the current committee from operating. The individual is claimed to have the backing of a strong higher hand connected to sports. Peiris and his team lied low for months but silently they fought back, eventually managing to get his legal team to bring a motion and get the injunction lifted. This happened weeks ago but the former official has made an appeal, putting the NSSF operation back to square one.
“Our only wish is that the young, budding and poor shooters would not suffer as a consequence of this, we had a lot of plans for them. One of our major achievements is obtaining a plot of land to structure out a national shooting range. We have got the approval from the Ministry of Sports, who had worked in consultation with the Ministry of Megapolis to allocate a land for us in the suburbs of Colombo. It’s a property that measures out 167×50 metres, which is quite enough to accommodate all ISSF (International Shooting Sports Federation) sanctioned events leaving out only shot gun events, which needs a bigger facility,” Peiris revealed. After being shunned from carrying out their duties for nearly an year, Peiris and his team will be left with closer to ten months to implement their plans.
Creating a common shooting range where shooters from schools could benefit immensely is their priority. And Peiris was fully hopeful that his team will get to throw out their fullest effort during the remaining days in office so that they could inherit productive assets to the future of the sport and its followers. They hope to complete a phase of the national shooting range facility for school shooters, who are entitled to use air weapons, by June this year. In the meantime, during the short time they were active, Peiris and his team worked tirelessly to straighten out many crooked corners and pathways on their track. One of the main triumphs was winning the support of the Armed Forces – the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police, who were distanced due to misunderstandings.
“The Armed Forces are working very close with us. Unlike some months back, the Armed Forces’ stance on the NSSF has completely changed, I think it was a total misunderstanding created by certain individuals. They have been really supportive towards us and have been working very close with us. Some tried to interpret that a civilian holding the top position at NSSF could open avenues for criminal activities, which was utter nonsense. By today we have proved that this is creating a level playing field for any person, if they come through a proper channel, like a registered athlete from a club.” “The Schools Section is working together with the NSSF closely now, unlike in the past. We have assisted them by providing well trained coaches. Besides this the Ministry of Sports too is hoping to come out with 10-metre ranges at districts.
If it materialises, we will be in a position to provide a coach for each centre,” Peiris added. “During the past regime no coaches, judges or referees developed. And opportunities were closed on others because the whole of NSSF was centered around one individual. Because of that fact no development of the sport was visible and nothing positive was evident. By now, during a short time, we have developed a contingent of nearly 40 coaches and 20 to 30 judges,” he went on to say. However Peiris was firm in his observation that any sport governing body in the world has a code of conduct to adhere and the NSSF is no exceptional. He understands that fact that officials must be duly elected, as he took the reign of NSSF and they must be given the fullest support to carry out the duties.
“We have to go with the world. All sports governing bodies are alignment with the International Olympic Committee. It’s always better to have an elected body, because the people who come are volunteers. But they must understand the fact that once they nominate themselves and they are elected and it’s no more a voluntary task. The first thing that should strike to the mind is that they are working for the country. That alone has to give them a great sense of responsibility and all must realise that,” he stressed. After being made the bulls-eye target by one or two, even after being duly elected, Peiris was adamant that he should step down when his term comes to an end. Being an active and competitive shooter, he intends not to step down from the sport he truly loves and hopes to compete at local and international events. The NSSF has been a stronghold of the country’s Armed Forces due to the fact of the three-decade long ethnic war and restrictions on weapons.
But during his days heading the NSSF, Peiris has understood that jealousy and manipulative role a certain former official has been more devastating than what a gun can do. “From now on, with the mechanism we have put in place there should not be a problem unless it is forced to collapse, which I doubt. I have a lot of faith in the top officials of Sports in Sri Lanka, who has never interfered in the governance of shooting. The mistake a lot of people do is not making way to others. The Presidency of a national association or federation is the highest position that any person can hold. When the tenure of an individual is over, it’s wise and it’s your duty to step down and give way to others, who may come out with better ideas and plans than us. We, should be in the background must support them to implement their plans in the interest of the country and help the sport reach great heights,” aiming at his last shot, Peiris said.