Cooray from Seylan Bank brings victory for Sri Lanka at World Carrom Championship

Being a proponent of a healthy work-life balance and cognizant of the impact and engagement of sports on personal wellbeing, leading Sri Lankan bank Seylan Bank reaffirmed its commitment to support the bank’s staff to pursue their passion for sporting.

Seylan Bank’s commitment to its corporate sporting culture has come to the limelight yet again in the wake of Sri Lanka’s international triumph at the 7th World Carrom Championship 2016. Seylan Bank employee Chamil Cooray captained the Sri Lankan men’s carrom team to a triumphant victory defeating India and emerging World Carrom Champions at the 7th World Carrom Championship 2016 finals held in Birmingham, UK this month. The men’s carrom team confronted teams from over 20 countries to secure the top spot.

Current national carrom champion Cooray has emerged a 12-time Sri Lankan champion at the National Carrom Championships conducted by the Carrom Federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL) and also won the top spot in the Swiss League category. With his performance at the 2016 Carrom Championship this month, Cooray became the only Sri Lankan to win the Swiss League on two consecutive occasions, having previously won it in 2014.

Cooray, who comes from a family which is deeply involved in carrom, participated in his first international competition when he was 15 years old. At 17 he became the youngest player to win the national championship. An employee of Seylan Bank for the past 11 years, Cooray noted that he was grateful for the support and encouragement of his family and Seylan Bank over the years. 

“I am proud to have represented the country and my organisation on an international platform and I’m humbled by all the support extended to me and the team. I hope to keep raising the bar for my performance and will strive to participate in the world championship again and popularise the game,” commented Cooray. He also noted that it was important to develop and support carrom around the island, identifying talented Sri Lankan players and subsequently encouraging provincial matches and publicising the game. 

Seylan Bank felicitated Cooray’s achievement and pledged support to continue to maintain its strong corporate sporting culture. The bank has been active in developing and supporting the sporting talents of its employees to ensure a healthy work-life balance and facilitate employee engagement and wellbeing. 

The Seylan Bank Sports Club was formed in the late 1980s and is enthusiastically run by its employees and has grown to be an integral aspect of the bank’s work culture. The bank’s Sports Club activities span netball, basketball, table tennis, athletics, hockey and cricket. It even hosts its own Inter-Region Sports Fiesta to identify and support emerging sporting talent.