Belle Wirakoon widely regarded as the unsung heroine of table tennis passed away yesterday 12 days before her 89th birthday.
Born on June 16, 1928, Belle dedicated her life to table tennis and remained married to the sport so much so that she died a spinster.
For nearly three decades (1948-1978) Belle reigned supreme as the queen of table tennis in the country so that she won the national singles women’s title on 13 occasions and was runner-up 12 times.
Belle commenced competitive table tennis in 1948 and the following year she finished as runner-up in the national women’s singles. She first won the national title in 1951 and held it till 1954. She was to win the national singles crown again in 1958, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1970 and then from 1973 to 1976.
She also won the women’s doubles as well as the mixed
doubles partnered by various players.
From 1950 to 1960 she represented her country in many tournaments held in India and also at the Ganefo Games in Jakarta in 1963/1964, Asian Games in 1964, Peking Invitation Table Tennis Tournament in 1966, Afro-Asian Latin American Table Tennis Tournament in 1973 and Asian Table Tennis Championship in Yokohama, Japan in 1974.
Some of her contemporaries were the Pestonjee sisters, the Jilla’s - Indra and Bhai, Mrs. V.P. Siriwardene, Grace Somasunderam, Neela Singham, Charlie Daniel, Anton Fernandopulle, N. H. Perera, Chris Gunaratne, Jothipala Samaraweera, Annesley Gomes, Dick and Sam Schoorman.
“Belle was one of the great players produced by Sri Lanka. She was a good chopper and basically she was a very defensive player,” said NH Perera, a former Sri Lanka player, national champion and coach who made his first international tour with Belle to Peking in 1966.
“She dominated the game at the time and the only opposition she got was from Frances Ratnayake who always came to the finals and Belle would beat her.
Belle was very fond of table tennis and helped a lot of players when they started playing the game. She assisted the youngsters to reach a certain standard. She was a very dedicated player who was married to the sport,” Perera said.
“Belle was the greatest women’s player in Sri Lanka. She was 25 times national champion and runner-up which I think no one in the world has achieved,” said another former Sri Lanka player and national champ who was one of Belle’s contemporaries Jothipala Samaraweera.
“I had repeatedly requested the national association to invite her for the Nationals to hand over the awards because she was such a great player and the present generation of players would get an opportunity to see and talk to her, but all my requests fell on deaf ears. Now she is no more,” said Samaraweera.