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| Sunday, 8 January 2006 |
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Sports |  |
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Gihan
Liyanage shows promise as a fine TT player
by Upananda Jayasundera, Kandy Sports Special Corr. Gihan Madhushika Liyanage, an advanced Level student of Dharmaraja College, Kandy, is doing well with his studies as well as in the sport he loves - table tennis. At the recent Junior National Table Tennis Championships held at S. Thomas' Indoor Stadium in Mount Lavinia, he won two titles playing in the under-17 age group. That was not all. He also won the mixed doubles title partnered by Deepika Rodrigo at the Senior National Championships held on December 31 and is presently in the Sri Lanka Table Tennis School in preparation for the SAF Games to be held in August this year here in Sri Lanka. He started playing table tennis at the young age of 6 years when he was under the watchful eyes of coach Buddhika Dikkumbura at Vidyartha College with Mrs. G. Piyadasa as games mistress. When Gihan joined Dharmaraja College, he blossomed out to be a fine table tennis player under coach Chaminda Rodrigo and master-in-charge Jayantha Bandara. Gihan Liyanage has won the Central Province Table Tennis Championships in the under-13, 15, 17 and under-19 age groups and leaving out the under-19 age group, he won the other age groups at the Junior Nationals to become the champion. Right now, he has been ranged No. 1 in the under-17 and under-19 age groups. In the Open Men's age group, he has been ranked No. 6. What really pushed Gihan Liyanage up the ladder of success in Table Tennis is his perseverance in the game. He followed a course in the game for 1 1/2 months at the age of 8 years in 2000 and that helped him to catch the finer points in the game. He has toured Bangladesh in 2003 and India in 2004 and 2005 with the Sri Lanka junior teams. When he toured Malaysia late last year, he won a bronze medal for Sri Lanka at the International Table Tennis Tournament. Gihan Liyanage is bubbling with enthusiasm for the sport and what he is looking out for is a sponsor who can give him further encouragement so that he will be able to climb the ladder of success further in the years to come. |
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