Paralympian DHR Dharmasena is another battle scarred soldier differently able through an injury to get the opportunity to represent Sri Lanka in sports. He will participate in wheelchair tennis at the Paralympic Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan.
Dharmasena is the third wheelchair tennis player to be selected for an international event of this magnitude.
Dharmasena, a sergeant, joined the Sri Lanka Army in 2007 and after completing his basic training he was posted with the 11th Sri Lanka Artillery Regiment. He was injured in battle and lost his left limb below the knee in an LTTE attack in the north.
After his injury he started playing wheelchair tennis in 2010 and with his willpower, dedication and commitment he became the number one player in Sri Lanka and got the opportunity to represent the country in several international tournaments all over the world during 2018 and 2019.
With these achievements he was able to lift his world ranking to 38, the highest attained by a local wheelchair player. The outstanding performances by Dharmasena was evaluated by the ITF who gave the green light for him to participate in the Paralympics 2020 in Tokyo.
Among his achievements in the past are winning the bronze medal at the Asian Para Games in 2018, gold medal in the Open doubles category at the Malaysian Labuan Open Wheelchair Tennis championship and the silver medal in the Malaysian Kuala Lumpur Open singles in 2018.
He has also participated in the Taiwan Open Wheelchair Tennis Championship in 2018 and won the silver medal in the Open singles and the gold medal in the Open doubles category. His current position in wheelchair tennis international ranking is 62. (TBR)