The SLBA was told to conduct their Annual General Meeting before June 30 in order to begin the process of bringing their constitution in line with that of the BWF and form a proper governance but failed to meet the deadline, with the meeting now set for July 27.

The BWF also claimed “the autonomy of the SLBA is being compromised through the application of Government sports regulations and sports laws and this is contrary to the requirements under Clause 5.2 and 5.3 of the BWF Constitution”.

The blame for the suspension, which means no badminton player from the country will be able to compete in BWF-sanctioned events for the duration of the ban, has been laid solely at the feet of SLBA President Suraj Dandeniya by an opposition group led by Ranjit de Silva, former head of the governing body.

Several provincial badminton association officials have rallied together in opposition of Dandeniya’s leadership and have written a letter to Sri Lanka’s Minister of Sports Navin Dissanayake concerning the situation of the sport in the country.

They allege that Dandeniya should not be at the helm of the SLBA as he has not represented Sri Lanka at badminton and has already served his two-year mandate as President.

It is claimed that Dandeniya is not eligible to stand for election again unless he receives special permission from Dissanayake, which he is yet to obtain.

The group also claim the current President has failed to submit the annual accounts for 2014, which should have been done by February 2015 at the latest, and that he is the reason for Sri Lanka’s drop in world ranking.

“We have to save the game for the sake of the players who it is for them that we have to put things on the correct path,” De Silva said.

“Officials come and go but the players stay for a long time and it is for their sake that the association should be saved from disgrace in the face of the world.

“There is no standard in our players who go for international events and fall in the first round itself.”

It follows BWF secretary general Thomas Lund writing to the SLBA expressing their hope that an acceptable version of the Sri Lankan Sports Law would be ready in time for the SLBA to update their governance structure.

The Sri Lankan Sports Law, an ongoing process between the International Olympic Committee and the Sri Lankan Sports Ministry, has caused major problems for sport in the country.

If the delay in establishing an acceptable Sports Law continues, most of the elections concerning sporting bodies in the country will not be recognised, which could lead to more suspensions.

insidethegames has contacted the Sri Lanka Badminton Association for comment and is awaiting a response.