The Indian CEO Forum (ICF) In association with LANKA IOC (LIOC) and POWER TECH Cement partnered with the Colombo Rowing Club for The Madras-Colombo Regatta’ which is considered to be the oldest regatta in the world between two cities of different countries. As per the tradition, The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka H.E Gopal Baglay was the chief guest at this year’s edition held at the Colombo Rowing Club on Saturday the 26th November 2022.

This year it was the 81st edition of the event and was supported by the Indian CEO forum in Sri Lanka. Speaking at the event, the High Commissioner said that India will continue to row together with Sri Lanka in the race against common challenges and it is but natural for the people of India and the people of Sri Lanka to work together and build bonds. The Indian CEO forum stepping in to assist and partner with the Colombo Rowing club for this event is a clear example of how the neighbors encourage and support each other.

“The Indian CEO Forum along with two other member companies — Lanka IOC and Power Tech Cement — have come forward to sponsor this exclusive event and make it a success. This is a great boost for rowing in Sri Lanka, especially at a time the country is trying its level best to regain glory in all aspects,” said the President of the Rowing Club, Dimuth Gunawardena. “I am extremely thankful to Mr T S Prakash and Mr Kishore Reddy along with Mr Nagaraj who made this happen” Gunawardena added.

T S Prakash, the president of the ICF said “we are really happy that we are associated with this event and member companies are extremely happy that such a partnership was established”.

Kishore Reddy who is the vice president and Chairman membership of the ICF as well as the President of the Sri Lanka India Society said “The Madras Colombo Regatta has immense potential to be a permanent feature of the sporting calendar considering the history of the event and the traditions associated with it. We will work together with the Colombo Rowing Club to take this to the next level”.

“We are glad to be the sponsors of the event and were not really aware of an event with such history before Mr. Kishore Reddy mentioned it” said Manoj Gupta, Managing Director of Lanka IOC. “we look forward to supporting the Colombo Rowing club for the next event as well” he added.

Gaurav Mehta, the Managing Director of DHT cement and Power Tech Cement who were co-sponsors of the event mentioned ” we are happy that the newest brand of cement in Sri Lanka (Power Tech) has partnered with the oldest Regatta in the island. The event exceeded my expectation and we are proud that we are part of this and contributed to the success of the event”.

Sagala Ratnayake who was the guest of honour and also a past Oarsman who had rowed many times at the venue said that he was happy to see the partnership between the ICF and the Rowing Club.

The first-ever Madras-Colombo Rowing Regatta was held way back in 1898 and is considered the oldest sporting encounter held between India and Sri Lanka.This time, the rivalry resumed after a break of three years due to the pandemic.

Traditionally, the Madras Boat Club and the Colombo Rowing Club host the Regatta alternatively and this year it was the Colombo Rowing Club’s turn to host the Indian team. ” we are extremely thankful to the Colombo Rowing Club for hosting us and for their great hospitality” said the President of the Madras Boat Club Mr Subramanium. ” We will also try our best to match this hospitality, if not exceed when we host this event next year” he added.

The main event of the Regatta is the Men’s boat race which is considered to be the second oldest boat race in the world, second only to the famous Oxford-Cambridge boat race. The events were for men and women over a distance of 1000 metres. The winners of the Men’s event were Colombo and were awarded the prestigious Deepam Trophy while the Adyar Trophy was awarded to the Madras team who were the Women’s champions. The overall champions of the 81st Madras Colombo Regatta was Colombo Rowing Club.