The Girl’s Under 10 Doubles final which was held on the 22nd of August marked the end of the 100th Tennis Junior Nationals after a fortnight of excitement and energy on the courts of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association.
During the two weeks in which the nationals were worked off, the SLTA playing section was witness to an array of up and coming talent in the racket sport from around the country. A record number of over 500 players enlisted for the 100th Junior Nationals that included both boys and girls from ages 8-18.
On paper, 10 titles were on offer and ThePapare.com takes a look at how these were distributed among the 500 participants who were a part of the Junior Nationals this year.
Boys’ Under 18
The main silverware on offer in the Junior Nationals, the Boys’ Under 18 title had its own unexpected turn of events as the fourteen year old Avindra Perera took home the celebrated title, against all odds. The title which was favored to go to one of the top seeds that included Royalist B Suren and Peterite Chehan Fernando took an absolutely stunning turn; finally end up in the hands of young Avindra.
A versatile player in the making, Avindra had to fight his way to the finals defeating tops seed B Suren 6-4,6-4 and Peterite Chehan Fernando to end up facing Aadavan Pushparaj in the finals. Having already crossed the devil and the deep blue sea, the finals must have felt like a walk in the park for the little champion. Avindra defeated Pushparaj 4-6, 6-4 & 6-0 to take home the championship.
Girls Under 18 
It was another Visakhian affair in the final of the Girl’s Under 18 title with Nethmi Waduge and Thisuri Molligoda booking their spots in the finals. Defending champion, sixteen year old Medhira Samarasinghe did not showcase the best of her abilities as she was defeated by Thisuri Molligoda in the semi finals.
In yet another episode of the Waduge-Molligoda battle series, it was Waduge who emerged as the victor winning the final 6-3, 6-4. This win thereby cements Nethmi Waduge’s supremacy in the under 18 category as she was able to secure wins in both of Sri Lanka’s premiere A grade tournaments this season, having already won the 100th Colombo Championships but Molligoda sought sweet revenge in the Women’s open.
Boys Under 16 & Under 14 Singles
It was another Avindra Perera-Aadavan Pushparaj meet up in the Under 16 title run and it was Pushparaj who was successful in laying his hand on the silverware on offer. Having earlier lost the under 18 battle to the 14 year old, Pushparaj sough sweet revenge from his Thomian counterpart winning the game 6-3, 7-5.
Ashen Silva took home the Under 14 Singles title, winning the final game 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 defeating the second seed Thevan Perera. It was an emotional moment for the young Ashen Silva this being his first national title.
Girls’ Under 16 & Under 14
Defending champion Medhira Samarasinghe retained her under 16 title for the second year running defeating fourteen year old Anika Seneviratna 6-1, 6-1 in the finals. The sixteen year old had to let go of her under 18 legacy earlier in the tournament but managed to hold on to her title in the under 16 category.
Up and coming talent, Anika Seneviratna didn’t have the luck of passing through Medhira Samarasinghe in the under 16 title but she had it her way in the under 14 draw winning it convincingly defeating Prabudhi Perera 6-2, 7-5. The ITF cup winner had an impressive run in the entire tournament also being able to bag the Under 14 doubles trophy along with Prabhudi Perera.
Despite the high end performance showcased by the budding talents in the racket sport, it is disappointing to see that the immediate talents entering the national circuit is not up to acceptable standards. This was clearly seen with players of lower age groups dominating the higher age categories whilst the senior players backed out of the competition.
