Thamadi Mendis wears TT double crown
View(s):Thamadi Mendis of Girls’ High School Mt. Lavinia grabbed a double as she won the Girls’ Under-18 Singles and Under-15 Singles titles at the All-Island Novices Intermediate Table Tennis Championship 2014 held at the S. Thomas’ College Indoor Complex in Mt. Lavinia.
Thamadi beat Dinali Bimalka of Visakha Vidyalaya to win the Girls’ Under-18 Singles title after winning the Girls’ Under-15 Singles title beating Naduni Dinethya of Yasodara Balika Vidyalaya earlier on.
In the Under-18 Girls’ Singles Thamadi beat Dinali 2-1 after conceding the first set 14-16. But she made a strong fight back to snatch the second set 11-7 and sealed a well deserved win soon after securing a comfortable 11-5 win.
However she was unlucky in the Novices Women’s Singles-final. Thamadi won the first set 11-8 but lost the remaining two sets 11-7 and 11-5 to much experienced Anushka de Alwis of Ladies’ College, who eventually won the remaining two sets 11-7 and 11-9.
However Anushka lost to Kavani Vihara of Girls’ High School in the Women’s Intermediate Singles final by two sets to nothing.
From the boy’s segment Shalika Karunarathne of Vidyartha College beat his school-mate Anupa Athauda to win the Under-18 Singles championship. Ojitha Vinath of Royal College Colombo bounced back to beat Chamindu Bandara of Trinity College after a great battle to snatch the Boy’s Under-15 Singles championship.
Tharindu Keshan of Isipathana College had very little trouble in beating Chathura Pamodya of Dharmasoka College for the Men’s Novice’s Singles championship. The Men’s Intermediate Singles was won by K.W.M.S. Kodagoda of the University of Kelaniya who got the better of Shanka Dilshan of Lyceum International School.
Tharusha Heshan of Kegalu Vidyalaya defeated his schoolmate Adith Ariyaratne to bag the Boy’s Under-12 Singles championship while the girls’ title of the same age category was won by Nethmi Hettiarachchi of Holy Cross College who beat Maleesha Sathsarani of Prajapathi Gothami BMV.
The two battles for the Under-10 Singles of the boy’s and girls’ segments were keenly contested, with both games going down to the last wire. In the boy’s final Nenuka Chaniru of Ferguson High School beat Mahith Jayasumana of Lyceum International while Prasansa Devindi of Prajapathi Gothami BMV beat Divya Dharani of P. de S. Kularatne MV for the girls’ title.
Air Commodore Thilan de Silva graced the awards ceremony as the chief guest of the competition held on August 8 and 9 and organised by the G.S.M. Table Tennis Academy of Ambalangoda. – NA
| Results
U-8 Boys Singles: Hasindu Malshan (St Mary’s Kegalle) beat Vihanga Gimhan (Dharmaraja Kandy) 8-11, 11-3, 11-3 |