Hansani and Udaya win TT titles

by S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen

Hansani Piumila Kapugeekiyana of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo and Udaya Ranasinghe of Vidyartha College, Kandy reigned supreme again when they carried away the Best Player's awards for girls and boys respectively at the all island boys and girls junior table tennis championship for the Mahipala Herath Challenge Trophy organised by the Kegalle Table Tennis Association and worked off at the Indoor Stadium of Kegalu Vidyalaya.

Kapugeekiyana with an under 18 ranking of number one who represented Sri Lanka at the 2015 Commonwealth Games in Scotland last year was in spanking form and defeated schoolmate Chamathsara Fernando 3-1.

She started off well by winning the first set comfortably 11/5 but Chamathsara Fernando fought back in the second set winning 11/3 to draw level. But she did not allow the game to slip off by winning the next two sets 11/5 and 11/6.

The defending national senior and junior champion Udaya Ranasinghe of Vidyartha College continued his winning streak by winning the boys under 18 singles by defeating Supuna Warusawitharne of Ananda College 3-0. Young Supuna Warusawitharne put up a brave fight losing by small margins. In the second set he came close to toppling the champion before going down 10/12.

Little Senura Silva despite an emotional setback with his mother Deepika Rodrigo having recently undergone a major cerebral surgery battled it out well in the boys under 10 event by defeating Althaf Rushdi of Royal College by the comfortable margin of 3-0.

Imasha de Silva of Dharmasoka College did well again to defeat Thanushi Rodrigo of Mahamaya Girls College 3-1 to snap the girls under 15 title.