Sri Lanka Junior and Cadet table tennis teams will leave for Myanmar to take part in the 24th Asian Junior and Cadet championships to be held from August 13 to 18.
The Asian continent is divided into five regions by the Asian Table Tennis Union namely East Asia, West Asia, Middle Asia, South East Asia and South Asia and held the preliminary qualification tournaments. Sri Lanka qualified for the Asian championship in the South Asian regional meet which was held in April this year in the Maldives. From the South Asian region only Sri Lanka and India managed to qualify for the Asian championship after a tough battle with other regional teams.
Sri Lanka secured six silver medals and six bronze medals in the regional qualifications thereby securing the second place in the region.
Nimesh Ranchagoda from Royal College and Hansani Piyumila from Visakha Vidyalaya lead the teams while Hiruna Warusawithana of Darmasoka College and Jithara Warnakulasuriya of Ladies’ Collage will give leadership to the Cadet teams.
It will mark Hansani’s 20th Sri Lanka representation, including senior and junior categories and Ranchagoda’s sixth appearance for his country.
The Under-18 and 15 Team, Under-18 and 15 Singles, Under-18 Doubles and Under-18 Mixed Doubles events will be decided in the tournament during the six days of competition. Sri Lankan players will have to face the Asian giants in order to move into the main draw of the tournament in each category. The team is well balanced with adequate experience and talent according to local officials and the championship will provide the most required exposure for the young paddlers to climb the ladder in the world rankings according to the new ranking system introduced by the International Table Tennis Federation.
Junior Boys Under-18 squad: Nimesh Ranchagoda (Captain, Royal College), Chandupa Alahakoon (Kingswood College), Isuru Anjana (Dharmasoka College)
Junior Girls Team Under-18 squad: Hansani Piyumila (Captain, Visakha Vidyalaya, DH Colombage (Dharmasoka College), Imasha de Silva (Dharmasoka College), Isla Chitty (Ladies’ College) Cadet Boys Under-15 squad: Hiruna Warusawithana (Captain, Dharmasoka College), Chanul Dulsen (Dharmasoka College), Senura Silva (Ananda College)
Cadet Girls Team Under-15: Jithara Warnakulasuriya (Captain, Ladies’ College), Sanaya Buddhadasa (Visakha Vidyalaya), Kavishka Kavindi (Dharmasoka College).
Manager: Rahal Abeyrathne, Lady Chaperon UPD Udagedara