SLIIT students’ sports prowess recognised at ‘Colours Awards 2014’

Wednesday, 16 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

SLIIT recently recognised their top student athletes at their annual Colours Awards ceremony, organised by the institute’s student council. The awards were held at SLIIT’s expansive Malabe campus in a colourful ceremony.

Rohan Seneviratne, Additional Secretary Ministry of Defence & Urban Development graced the occasion as Chief Guest. The Guest of Honour was Prof. Ranjith de Silva – Council Member-Badminton World Federation. K.R.C.K. Subasinghe was recognised as Outstanding Sportsman of the Year, while Umavi Pathirana won the award for Outstanding Sportswoman of the year as well as that of All Round Student- Sports for the year 2013. A total of 156 award winners from among 1000 regular players won awards, competing in 16 sports, including badminton, cricket, soccer, rugby, basketball swimming, netball, carrom, athletics, netball and the martial arts, which was introduced as a category for the first time recently. “We are extremely proud of our students’ prowess in sports,” said Professor Sam Karunaratne, Chairman /Chancellor of SLIIT. “At SLIIT, we aim to not only provide our students with top academic opportunities, but also allow students to enrich themselves through the myriad opportunities made available to them for personal development.” “I thank the Chairperson, the members of the Sports Advisory Board and our Physical Manager for their efforts, which have helped us excel in the sporting arena,” said President/CEO of SLIIT, Lalith Gamage. “I strongly believe that engaging in Sports will lead to the development of soft skills such as team-building and leadership capabilities. Excelling in sports will help build a student’s personality, making them better candidates in terms of employability,” he added. SLIIT has been on a winning streak in recent months, securing the title in the Inter University Basketball Women’s Championship for 2013, as well as the Women’s International University badminton championship, organised by the University of Moratuwa. Students from SLIIT placed equal first in the 1,800-2,000 rating category at the International Rating Open Chess Tournament 2013 organised by the Chess Federation. SLIIT was also placed runner up at the Inter University Cricket Tournament.