Ananda’s table tennis prodigy Senura Silva destined to bring glory to Sri Lanka
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Ananda College, Colombo student Senura Silva is a table tennis prodigy who oozes confidence and is hungry to bring glory to Sri Lanka in the international arena.
The 15-year-old is ranked third in the Men’s Open category and the top ranked junior table tennis star in the country.
Junior National champion in 2018 and 2019, he was adjudged the most outstanding player on both occasions after bagging the four titles – Boys under-15 singles, Boys Under-18 singles, Under-18 Boys doubles and Under-18 Mixed doubles.
Gold medalist at the 2019 South Asian Hopes, Cadet, and Junior Table Tennis Championship, Nepal, he represented the Sri Lanka senior national team at the 24th Asian Table Tennis championship in Indonesia in 2019.
The youngest table tennis competitor at the 2019 South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal, he became the first Anandian to represent Sri Lanka in the sport being a member of the bronze medal winning team.
“My target is to win a gold medal for Sri Lanka at the South Asian Games (SAG) in table tennis,” said Senura who fell in love with the racquet sport at the tender age of four.
“My parents are table tennis champions and since we had a table at home I started playing from a young age,” said Senura who studied at Isipathana till Grade IV before moving to Ananda College because of his prowess in table tennis.
Eldest in a family of three, Pitiyage Don Senura Dilanka Silva has table tennis running in his genes being the son of former national stars Indika Prasad and Deepika Rodrigo. Prasad, a former Sri Lanka player who has won medals at the South Asian level, runs an academy in Nawala and has been Senura’s coach from childhood. His mother Deepika, a nine-time national singles champion and SAG silver medallist is also his mentor and greatest fan. His coach at Ananda is Nishan Perera. Senura’s younger brother eight-year-old Kenura has
also started playing table tennis.
Senura first tasted success at the Western Province tournament when he became Under-8 champion. He first represented Sri Lanka in the junior level from the age of 11 in 2016 and the senior category at the age of 14 in 2019.
He represented Sri Lanka at the World Junior Table Tennis Championship on several occasions, winning a bronze in the Under-12 singles in India. He was also part of the team which won the silver at the South Asian Junior Championships in Maldives.
Among his other achievements are being ranked 86th in the world when he was Under 15, being in the first 32 at the 2018 Junior Cadet Championship in Thailand and among the top 16 in a tournament in Oman.
Semi-finalist at the 2019 Senior National Championship where he won the singles and doubles titles, Senura emerged runner up at the Maheepala Herath Challenge Trophy tournaments and Western Province All Island Ranking tournament held this year for the first time after the spread of COVID-19. He is also participating in trials to be selected for the High Performance pool.
“I practice about three hours a day. I am confident of achieving my goals with hard work and training. I am grateful to all the support I received, especially from my former Principal Kithsiri Liyanagamage and
present Principal S.M. Keerthiratne at Ananda,” said Senura who received a twoyear scholarship from the National Olympic Committee’s NOCSL-Crysbro next Olympic hope project.
An attacking player with a shake hand grip, seems destined to go places in the sport which has become the love of his life.
Prospects Academy in partnership with ACT USA, offers the International Foundation programme, also known as the Global Assessment Certificate ( GAC) for the benefit of students who have completed their O/L’s. This internationally recognised and accredited qualification is recognised by over 200 universities in Australia, USA, Canada, and UK and provides students with entry into a bachelor’s degree, in a field of their choice including Business, Computing, Engineering, Science, Education, Psychology, Bio sciences and many other fields.
This provides the student with a distinctive advantage, as their progression on completion of the foundation is not restricted or limited to one country or university, but rather provides them with a variety of options to choose from, in terms of universities and study destinations. In today’s context, especially with the COVID pandemic related scenario, it’s important for students to have several options available, so that they can change their plan A if needed, to a different study destination or university, based on their budget, COVID policy of each university, timeline of opening of borders in each country etc so that students do not have to waste time, limiting their option.
It has been revealed that a high percentage of students, who undertake pathway courses or foundation studies which are based on one university, end up completing their studies at another university or study destination, due to change of plans or various other issues, and some are unable to transfer their credits due to non-acceptance by another university.
Therefore, it’s important to enroll for a foundation programme that is widely accepted and recognised by many universities and multiple countries.
Universities in Australia
The GAC International
Foundation Programme is accepted by over 20 leading universities in Australia including Monash University, University of New South Wales ( UNSW), Swinburne University, RMIT, La Trobe University, Deakin University, Curtin University, Griffith Unive r s i t y, Macquarie U n i v e r s i t y, Flinders University, and several other reputed universities and colleges. Students who successfully complete the GAC programme can enroll directly into the 1st year of a bachelor’s degree, at any one of the partner universities in Australia.
Universities in USA
Over 100 leading universities in the USA accept the G AC International Foundation programme, out of which over 50 universities provide upto 1 year of credit exemptions into their bachelor’s degree. Some of the universities in USA which accepts the GAC qualification include State Universities of New York ( SUNY) – SUNY Albany, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Buf f a l o, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY – IT, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Plattsburg, California State University Monterey Bay, New York
Institute of Technology, Oklahoma State University, Iowa state university, Miami University, Humboldt State Unive r s i t y, Cincinnat i University, etc
Scholarships
Students who enroll for the GAC International Foundation program and obtain good results, with a minimum GPA of 3.3, would be entitled to a minimum of 25% scholarships at some of the partner universities.
ACT USA
Grounded in 60 years of research, ACT is a trusted leader in college and career readiness solutions. Each year, ACT serves millions of students, job seekers, schools, government agencies and employers in the US and around the world with learning resources, assessments, research and credentials designed to help them succeed from elementary school through career.
Applications are now accepted for the June 2021 intake. Call 072- 8333387 for further details and information. Prospects Academy
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