President Mahinda Rajapaksa, jubilant over the achievement of Sergeant Pradeep Sanjaya, Sri Lanka’s Bronze Medalist in London Paralympic Games - 2012, during an  audience at Temple Trees Thursday (13) morning, extended his best wishes to the medalist by offering him one more promotion in rank plus cash and land gifts.

Hours after Lance Corporal Pradeep Sanjaya was made a Sergeant in the Army, HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa elevated him to the rank of a Staff Sergeant during his audience with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces at Temple Trees. Simultaneously, a combined cash gift of Rs 4.5 million was also awarded by the President to the medalist who brought honour and dignity to the motherland.

Mr Mahindananda Aluthgamage,  Minister of Sports, Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence and Urban Development, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army, Major General R.M.D. Ratnayake, Chairman, Athletic Association of Sri Lanka and Chief of Staff, Major General Jagath Alwis, Director General General Staff at Army Headquarters, Major General Boniface Perera, Colonel of Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, Mrs Nishika Dulanjalee, the spouse of Pradeep Sanjaya, the baby son, U.P. Kaveesha and the medalist’s mother were present at the occasion.

President Rajapaksa during the interaction presented a cash cheque to the value of Rs 4.5 million to the Staff Sergeant Pradeep Sanjaya in recognition of his achievement and wished him good luck in his future career.

The cash gift consists of a sum of Rs 3 million, allocated by Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (Rs 1 million), Army Para Games Committee (Rs 1 million) and Army Sports Control Board (Rs 1 million) and another sum of Rs 1.5 million from the government and Ministry of Sports.

President Rajapaksa after exchanging pleasantries with the medalist and his family members for a few minutes gifted him at the same time with a plot of land for construction of a new house   for the family of Staff Sergeant Pradeep Sanjaya.

Staff Sergeant Pradeep Sanjaya, spoke high of appreciative and congratulatory gestures, organized in relation to his London achievement, and took the chance to thank the President for his exceptional warmth and appreciation and the Commander of the Army.