Sri Lankan Of The Year :

Paralympic medalist wins LMD’s annual award

Leading business magazine LMD announced yesterday that its Sri Lankan Of The Year for 2012 is paralympic sprint champion Pradeep Sanjaya.

The young man from the Armed Forces follows in the footsteps President Mahinda Rajapaksa – who was LMD’s nominee in 2010, for his Commander-in-Chief role in winning the war against terrorism – and former cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara.

LMD says that “the term ‘role model’ is used often: at times, by taking liberties with its meaning; and on occasion, being looked down as a mere cliché.

But this year, Sri Lankans found a bona fide role model in its latest sporting sensation Pradeep Sanjaya – the athlete who shone on the world stage, despite the odds being stacked heavily against him. His heroics at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London opened a new chapter in our land’s history books.”

In an exclusive interview with LMD at the Sinha Regiment headquarters in Ambepussa, for its December Cover Story, Sanjaya states: “When I joined the Army, people could not walk on the streets without fearing for their lives. But now, even schoolchildren can travel around without fear. People can travel to any part of the island in peace. This is what we fought for…” “I’m very proud to have given Sri Lanka its first Paralympic medal.

Sri Lankans were very happy about it… and especially my regiment was very proud of my achievement,” he said.

The interview with Pradeep Sanjaya appears in the latest edition of LMD, which will be released to bookstores and selected supermarkets tomorrow.