Taniya and Kayla for All India Amateur Golf Championships
Sri Lankan teenagers Taniya Minel Balasuriya and Kayla Perera will become the first Lankan girls to take part at an All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championships when they tee off at the 100th All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championships to be held from December 12 to 18 at Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi.
Taniya, a student of Sri Jayewardenepura Balika Vidyalaya Kotte will take the wing to India today with Ladies College’s Kayla Perera with the participation their coach Radha Sundarampullei.
Kayla Perera and Taniya Balasuriya in action at the Royal Colombo Golf Club. Pix by M.D Nissanka
Both Lankan girls, who will compete at the landmark centennial championships, where the spectators can witness one hundred of the finest lady golfers in the world from Scotland, Ireland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and India vie for the coveted 100th USHA All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship crown.
Due to Taniya and Kayla’s excellent performance during the past two years, both players have been among the top two ranks in the country.
Fourteen-year-old Taniya is the Sri Lanka’s number one ranked player in the junior category in 2015. She is the most talented junior golfer in the country. Her records are exceptional and she has participated several foreign tournaments at this very young age.
Kayla Perera won three main titles during the past two years. She won the prestigious Pin Fernando Trophy at the Sri Lanka Amateur Championship held in Digana this year. She took the Nuwara Eliya Challenge Cup at the McWoods Championship in 2015 before she teed off to grab the FB de Mel Cup at the Sri Lanka Amateur Championships held in Colombo in 2015.
Besides, Thirteen-year-old Kayla represented Sri Lanka at the British Junior Open Championship in Scotland in 2016. That was her only overseas tournament.
Kayla’s coaches are Kanas Kumar and Jehan de Saram, who have been helping her to become a professional golfer.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of playing on a new course and excited to represent Sri Lanka at a Tournament like the 100th Indian Amateur Championships,” Kayla told before leaving the country.