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Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday, 7 November 2014 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the nation’s number one ICT solutions provider, proudly announced that the company had emerged overall champions at the recently concluded 31st Mercantile Athletic Championships, by obtaining the highest ever number of medals in the history of Sri Lankan mercantile athletics.
The SLT team secured a total of 495 points by winning 44 gold, 41 silver and 36 bronze medals while maintaining almost a double digit lead over the first runner-up, who secured 245 points.
A total of 1800 athletes, representing 40 companies, participated at the games this year, while 60 Indian athletes, who were the winners of India’s mercantile athletic games, also participated.
The SLT staff participating in the games was from SLT branch offices located island-wide.
The record-breaking 220 athletes in the SLT team were selected through the Inter-Provincial Games organised earlier in the year. This inter-provincial tournament saw the participation of 800 staff members from all over the country.
The SLT staff demonstrated high performance in various aspects, including timing and participation. SLT secured key gold medals and champion trophies for the ‘Overall Masters Champions Men’s’, ‘Overall Masters Champions Women’s’, ‘Overall Champions Men’s’, ‘Overall Champions Women’s’ and ‘31st Ritzbury Mercantile Annual Athletic Champions’ categories.
SLT Group CEO Lalith De Silva said: “There has been a qualitative improvement in our performance over the years, and this year our benchmarks have been raised higher with our team securing the topmost spot in the realm of sports. This constitutes a quantum leap in achievement and the big lead SLT has gained is a pride to our company. This shows the potential of our team, and reinforces the fact that proper training and performance with a correct attitude unleashes potential which results in championship status. “Business and sports at SLT work in tandem with each complementing the other, and what is learned in the sporting arena is transferred to our business culture and helps us to maintain our competitive edge in the telecommunication field. We have a vibrant workforce with a healthy mind in a healthy body that willingly acts as an initiator in spearheading change for the betterment of our company and nation.
“We are happy to align with the Government’s thrust in building a healthier nation which contributes to economic, social, and spiritual development leading towards a healthy lifestyle and through it a better quality of life for all Sri Lankans. I strongly believe that SLT plays a strategic role in sustainable development and award-winning sports performance, and thereby is a shining example in the corporate world of our country.”
SLT Athletic Association President Rohana Ellawala: “Behind any success is a lot of hard work, preparation and commitment. My team has demonstrated that it is possible to strike a healthy balance in the business we do and other activities and still be No. 1 in all aspects if we put our minds to it and work hard together as one team.
“The importance of sports in promoting peace and harmony is one that has been used by great leaders of our time and throughout history. It has the ability to unite people under one banner by cutting across social and economic inequality. We contribute to this vision by uplifting and encouraging local sporting talent and athletes through the sponsorship of sporting events, bodies and sports men and women and contingents.”
He added: “It has been scientifically proven that developing and engaging in sport hones individual capabilities and creates team spirit, leadership skills and winning streaks, while training the mind towards tactical and strategic thinking. Sri Lanka Telecom continues to recognise the holistic impact sport has on creating people and teams and the unity it inculcates in teams and individuals. We have involved ourselves in sports, primarily by supporting it at a national level to create a strong foundation for it to flourish,” he added.
