Colombo International Container Terminals (pvt) Ltd, the only deepwater container terminal operator in the Port of Colombo together with the China Merchants Charitable Foundation (CMCF), the social responsibility arm of China Merchants Group (CMG), the parent company of the Colombo International Container Terminals Limited (CICT) have extended financial support to empower wheelchair tennis in Sri Lanka – a sport that has earned significant international recognition for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has 13 wheelchair tennis players who have secured international rankings. CMCF and CICT have donated Rs. 30 million to the wheelchair tennis programme from 2015 to 2019, becoming the main sponsor for wheelchair tennis in Sri Lanka.
Commending the support extended by CMCF and CICT, President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association Iqbal Bin Issac said if not for the generous financial support by the two companies, such international achievements would not have been possible.
Sri Lanka Wheel Chair Tennis Coach Jagath Welikala said the CSR initiative launched by CMCF and CICT enabled them to take part in many international tournaments positioning Sri Lanka among the top 40 countries playing Wheel Chair Tennis. “We used to miss out on many opportunities due to lack of financial assistance and this initiative has strengthened us to a great degree. But, we still have a long way to go and I take this opportunity to request other Sri Lankan companies also to follow the footsteps of CMCF and CICT,” the coach said.
Gamini Dissanayake, a former soldier attached to the Gemunu Regiment and a prominent national Wheel Chair Tennis player said he never imagined that life had such accomplishments in store for him, when he was brought back to Colombo with grave injuries from a battlefield in Muhamale, in 2000.
Suresh Ranjan Dharmasena is another solider who sustained critical injuries during the final phase of war in 2009.
“I was injured in Puthukudiiruppu and had to receive medical treatment over a long period of time. Today, we have been given a wonderful opportunity to make our nation proud, as Wheel Chair Tennis players.”
Annually, over 150 wheelchair tennis tournaments take place across the world under the supervision of International Tennis Federation and Sri Lanka is set host three international wheelchair tennis tournaments before the end of March, attracting a number of top players in the Asian Region.
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