Sooriya, CIC Vetcare come forward to sponsor Thilini and Ranthushka

Sun Match (Ceylon) Ltd. with their Sooriya brand of safety matches and CIC Vetcare have come forward to sponsor badminton players Thilini Hendahewa and Ranthushka Karunatilake, Sri Lanka Badminton announced on Friday.

Sri Lanka Badminton in a statement said that the National Olympic Committee was instrumental in securing lucrative sponsorships for Hendahewa and Karunathilake after careful evaluation by NOC marketing consultant Rohantha Athukorala.

“SLB has been in long drawn out talks with the Ministry of Sports (MOS), as well as the National Olympic Committee (NOC). MOS since Feb 2021 has provided a Tier 01 sponsorship package for Buwaneka Gunetileke and Sachin Dias, the top doubles combination in Sri Lanka. NOC has now stepped in and secured lucrative sponsorships for two more elite badminton athletes, Thilini Hendahewa and Ranthushka Karunatilake. Sun Match (Ceylon) Ltd., with their Sooriya brand of safety matches takes on the welfare of Thilini while CIC Vetcare has picked Ranthushka,” it said in the statement.

“SLB has over the last year or so, stepped up its training regime with full-time training programs for its elite athletes at the dedicated stadium premises. Apart from on-court and physical training, a customized nutrition program has been introduced to ensure better body composition befitting top athletes. The elite athletes have been paid a stipend to help them meet training and welfare expenses while an overseas international competition schedule is about to get underway in a few days.”

“What is special in this sports sponsorship package is the model chosen by NOC in collaboration with SLB, to provide a personal development module and a hands-on mentoring scheme that will ensure that these athletes are offered the means to explore their full sports potential but also the means to enhance the quality of their personal lives.”

Gowri Rajan, the marketing head of Sooriya and Ajith Weerasinghe the MD of Vetcare could not be present due to personal commitments, but NOC Chief Suresh Subramaniam and SLB Treasurer Mangala Gamage did the honors signing the two agreements on behalf of the athletes, moderated by Athukorala.