Crysbro hoists weight lifter as ‘The Next Champ’

Saturday, 8 December 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Everybody loves a winner. Such winners are being found every week by Crysbro, who celebrates their 40 year as the nation’s ‘Chicken specialist’. Extending their goodwill to the realm of sports, Crysbro have chosen Shashika Ekanayake, a young weight lifter, as ‘The Next Champ’.

The Next Champ which is aired on MTV sports every Friday at 8:00 p.m. brings together the combined resources and expertise of Crysbro, with MTV sports channel as media partner and MindFor Integrated Solutions as their creative collaborator.

This ground-breaking project was conceived with a view to unearthing the most talented individuals from among a wide array of sports and providing them with all the support necessary to turn them into world class sportsmen and sportswomen. The total package provided by Crysbro to the selected individuals will include a monthly stipend, sporting gear and equipment, access to top-notch coaches and training facilities, as well as sponsorship for participation at overseas events. This will be an on-going project, with The Next Champ being selected every week. Shashika Ekanayake of Maliyadeva Adarsha Maha Vidyalaya Kurunegala, is the second individual to be named as The Next Champ. Ekanayake has made a name for himself in weight lifting, winning a gold medal at the 2011 Youth Commonwealth Games held in Cape Town, South Africa, in the under 17 age category, beating participants from 52 countries. At the Asian Youth and Junior Weight Lifting Championship 2012 held in Myanmar, he clinched one gold and two silver medals. Ekanayake is the reigning Sri Lankan national weight lifting champ in the under 50 kg weight category and is ranked as the world’s No.3 in the same weight group for 2012. Crysbro is performing an excellent service to the nation through ‘The Next Champ’ by spotting and nurturing talented individuals such as Shashika Ekanayake, who have been a source of pride to all Sri Lankans. This program also gives prominence to individuals from sports which do not enjoy the limelight as much as cricket. While Sri Lanka has a long way to go in terms of creating world-class champions, The Next Champ is certainly doing a creditable job of unearthing individuals with exceptional potential. Being chosen as The Next Champ casts the selected individual as a role model whom other young men and women can emulate and bring credit to Sri Lanka. By providing such individuals with all the necessary support, Crysbro have laid the foundation for creating future champions the nation can be proud of.