Alliance Finance supports Dwarf Games winner
Alliance Finance PLC sponsored Sri Lankan-born athlete Randika Cooray at the recently concluded World Dwarf Games in Michigan, USA.
Bringing great honour to Sri Lanka, Randika secured three Gold medals in events she competed in beating strong opposition. Significantly, this athlete is the first Sri Lankan to secure Gold for the country at a world sporting event of this nature.
Randika secured her wins for badminton (singles) open women class L1, Boccia (singles) open class U2 and in Soccer in the open women’s category where she played on the British team.
Speaking of her experience Randika, who is a past pupil of Holy Family Convent- Bambalapitiya and a resident in the UK, thanked Alliance Finance for its support of her journey, which helped her secure Sri Lanka a place on the global stage:
“I am deeply thankful to Alliance Finance of Sri Lanka for having sponsored my travel to the games without them I wouldn’t have been able to attend the games and win 2 Gold medals for Sri Lanka. It enabled me to overcome adversity and prove to myself and my country that being of restricted growth doesn’t mean you can’t achieve your dream. Thank you Alliance Finance for supporting me to make, once called an impossible dream, come true”. Significantly, Randika secured her gold in badminton beating the previous world champion in the final, as well as in boccia, where she beat the key player of the Australian gold winning boccia team. In winning three gold medals, Randika has become the first Sri Lankan athlete to win gold in any World Dwarf Games, Paralympics or Olympics to date. “Randika is indeed a true inspiration, not only to those with physical limitations, but also to athletes across the country. We are indeed proud of her achievement and are fortunate that we were in a position to assist her realise her ambitions. Her commitment and determination has brought great honour to the country,” said Romani De Silva, Deputy Chairman and MD of Alliance Finance.
The 2013 World Dwarf Games, held in the US this year, is the largest sporting event in history exclusively for athletes with dwarfism, at which a total of 395 athletes from 17 countries competed for honours.
In keeping with the company’s Triple Bottom Line ethos of People, Planet, Profit, Alliance Finance continues to provide empowerment to marginalised sections of Sri Lankan society, nurturing new talent and actively promoting economic growth and nation building as part of its integrated business philosophy.