Diran and Oneli emerge best paddlers
Diran Hamer of Royal College was awarded the Norton Perera Memorial Challenge Trophy while Oneli Lehansa of Musaeus College won the Irangani Perera Memorial Challenge Trophy for their prolific performances at the Western Province Table Tennis Championships 2021.
Diran won a double crown, the Men’s Singles and the Under-17 Boy’s Singles titles while Oneli too won two titles -- the Women’s Singles and the Under-17 Girls Singles to be named as the best among the lot in the one-day competition held at the Bandaragama Indoor Stadium.
Diran beat Dewmith Weerasena of Lyceum International School, Nugegoda in straight sets to win the Men’s Singles title and went on to defeat Saluka Matheesha Premachandra of Ananda College in straight sets to claim the Under-17 Boy’s Singles title.
Oneli, on the other hand, had to thwart off the challenge possessed by Minadi Savidula of Viharamahadevi Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda before pulling off a 2-1 win to claim the Women’s Singles title. She had a rather easy outing against schoolmate Sandithie Jayasinghe to record a 2-0 win and the Under-17 Girls
Singles title.
Dewmith Weerasena, however made up to his defeat in the Men’s
Singles, to win two titles, He won the Singles titles in Under-15 and Under13 for Boy’s. Sandithie Jayasinghe too grabbed a doubled when she went on to claim the Under-15 and Under13 Girls Singles titles, after qualifying for three finals.
The Under-19 titles were won by Vihandu Keragala of Royal College, who claimed the Boy’s crown while Tharindi Thamasha Perera of Viharamahadevie Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda won its title for Girls.
Aahil Nabeel of Royal College and Hansi Maleesha of Loyola College, Bopitiya won the Under-11 Singles titles for Boy’s and Girls respectively while Kenura Silva of Isipathana College and Sithuki Sinelya of Sumeda College, Gampaha, claimed the Under-9 Singles titles.
The tournament was organised and conducted by the Ping Pong Academy in collaboration with the Western Province Table Tennis Association.