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The SLT Speedup Sawariya, Sri Lanka’s longest cross-country cycle race, came to an end on 31 July at the Municipal Grounds in Batticaloa, with Darshana Prasad of the SL Navy emerging as the event’s overall winner.
Aside from a glittering trophy, Prasad also received a cheque of Rs. 1 million, presented to him by Sri Lanka Telecom Chairman Kumarasinghe Sirisena.
Prasad crossed the finish line in a time of 18 hours, 29 minutes and 53 seconds, beating Charith Fernando of the SL Army, who came in second by a mere two seconds. Jeewan Jayasinghe of the SL Air Force came in third in a time of 18 hours, 30 minutes and 22 seconds.
The winner of the SLT Speed up Cycle Sawariya Darshana Prasad raises his trophy in the presence of SLT Chairman Kumarasinghe Sirisena (centre), Group CEO Dileepa Wijesundera (right) and CMO Ajantha Seneviratne
Jayasinghe also succeeded in securing the award for Best Sprinter. The title King of the Mountain went to C.M. Viran from the SL Ports Authority team, while Avishka Madonza was named the Best Young Cyclist. The SL Air Force, Navy and Army secured the prizes for Best Team respectively, making it a definite day of victory for the three armed forces.
Present at the event along with Sirisena were SLT’s Group CEO Dileepa Wijesundera, Chief Marketing Officer Ajantha Seneviratne 
and other distinguished members of SLT’s senior management.
There is no doubt that the ‘SLT Speedup Sawariya’ will go down in the history of Sri Lankan sports as an event that brought in a new era for cycling in the country. Organised by Sri Lanka Telecom in collaboration with the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka, SLT Speedup Sawariya was created to raise the standard of cycling in Sri Lanka and ensure its future development.
The success and popularity created by the campaign are a testament to the fact that the organisers at SLT and the CFSL have achieved all that they set out to achieve and more.
