HSC for the betterment of Tennis
View(s):Beyond the borders of Colombo there has always existed a broad berth of tennis talent across a number of age brackets. Numerous enthusiastic young players stride toward simple courts, brandishing their equally plain racquets in a bid to hone their skills and perhaps one day make it onto a more visible stage.While passion for the game is abundant, opportunity is often in short supply. That is why, a year ago, the Hambantota
Women’s Division I team
Sports Club (HSC) decided to step in and alter the status quo. On October 5, the opening stage of this plan was put in motion when HSC inaugurated the country’s first dedicated tennis academy at the Air Force Courts in Thunmulla.
The purpose of HSC’s new tennis arm, as explained in a club vision statement, was straightforward in theory:” To help children with talent in tennis but who cannot go further due to financial constraints as well as not having access to international tournaments. Therefore the tennis club and academy was formed with ranked players who had potential to do well.”
However, in practice, such an objective was lofty in its attempts to surmount considerable obstacles in order to fill a void which had existed in the local tennis circuit for several years.
A year on though, and the HSC tennis academy and its gifted pupils are consistently meeting these steep expectations. HSC’s precocious cadre now counts to its name a number of bright young prospects that are rapidly charging up the ranks of Lankan tennis.
Several of the club’s members displayed their dizzying potential at the recent 99th Tennis Nationals. The players that were in a particularly inspired vein of form were Medhira Samarasinghe (Winner U-16, U-18, semi-finalist Women’s Singles and winner Open Doubles), Joshua Jayarathne (U-16 winner), Nethmi Waduge (U-18 runner-up), Hasindi Lokuge (U-16 runner-up), Rukshana Abdeen (U-16 semi-finalist and U-18 quarter-finalist), Avishka Perera (U-18 Singles and Doubles runner-up), Isuru Wijeratne (Under-16 Doubles runner-up), Thewuni Devraja
The HSC Tennis squad
(Under-18 quarter-finalist, semi-finalist Women’s Singles and Open Women’s Doubles category winner), Ashen Silva (winner U-12, quarter-finalist U-14), Anika Seneviratne (winner U-12, runner-up U-14) , Neyara Weerawansa (runner-up U-12), Avindra Perera (U-14 Singles and Doubles winner), Sankha Atukorale (runner-up Men’s Doubles and semi-finalist Men’s Singles), Delwar Hossein (semi-finalist Men’s Singles).
A host of other players representing the club in a range of age groups also fared commendably, frequently proceeding deep into their respective draws or producing spectacular upsets of seeded players in early rounds.
These performances, although in large part due to the innate skill and instinct of each player, were doubtlessly aided by the special training provided by HSC. In fact, players preparing for the Nationals were armed with an added dimension of development when they had their games
Men’s Division I team
scrutinised and fine-tuned by a visiting Indian coach Mohamed Illiyas.
“The idea behind the academy is to develop and bring tennis to a strong level. Even though it is an individual sport, there are so many kids who have the talent to achieve but no guidance,” a top official from the club expressed. In line with this thinking, HSC is supplementing its training initiatives with several development projects. Most recently the club’s academy has commenced reaching out to young players from Kandy and Kurunegala, with plans in the pipeline to tap tennis potential from Negombo, according to club authorities.HSC is also playing a direct role in shepherding the local game’s progress on the world stage. This has taken the shape of its active involvement with the Lankan Fed Cup team 2014 was held in Kazakastan, which HSC sponsors, trains and supports.
Overall, after one year of working individually with a host of emerging players and, on the whole, actively developing and promoting Sri Lankan tennis, HSC can rest happy knowing it is proceeding with ease and success towards its goal of nurturing and elevating tennis here. Clearly, as its early results confirm, the club has succeeded in laying a firm foundation for a raft of towering achievements in the future.