Youngsters shine at 25th Asian TT Championship
View(s):Muthumali Priyadarshani, a former student of Sri Devananda College, Ambalangoda, currently turning out for Sri Lanka Navy and youngsters Senura Silva and Bimandee Bandara, performed exceptionally well at the ongoing 25th Asian Table Tennis Championship taking place in Doha, Qatar.
Muthumali Priyadarshani
Muthumali created history by becoming the first Sri Lankan female table tennis player to reach the round of 16 (quarter-finals) at an Asian Table Tennis Championship. This momentous feat was accomplished at the 25th Asian Table Tennis Championships currently being held in Doha in the Women’s Singles event category.
Another notable factor is that she is the only player from the South Asian region to be amongst the first 16 players at this year’s tournament, which is packed with players from countries where table tennis is played professionally and all players ranked top in the world. Muthumali played well in her first round matches and lost against Japanese player Hayata Hina, ranked 27th in the world in the quarter-finals.
In the other singles events, three players reached the pre-quarter-final round of 32. In the Men’s Singles event, schoolboy Senura Silva of Ananda College reached the round of 32. In the Women’s Singles event, schoolgirl Bimandee Bandara of Hilwood College, Kandy and Thanushi Rodrigo of Sri Lanka Army reached the round of 32 and lost to players from Iran and Chinese Taipei respectively.
In the team events both Men and Women performed tremendously well to improve the country’s ranking position by securing the12th place in the Women’s Team event, while the Men’s Team were ranked 18th. At the previous Asian Championship held in Indonesia in 2019, Sri Lanka Women were placed 19th and the Men were placed 23rd.
Bimandee Bandara
Senura Silva