Sri Lanka’s top youth Tennis players, Annaya Norbert and Vinethya Dharmarathne (Under 18), Sahansa Damsiluni and Eliza Kahagalla (Under 16), and Yohansa Rathnayake and Dinethma Ekanayakethe (Under 14), displayed dominant performances to bag the SLTA–YETI Hard Court Tennis Age Group Championships (Girls’) titles. Meanwhile, Methika Wickramasinghe – Risith Somaratne (Under 18), Shenon Anderson – Bishman Balaratnarajah (Under 16) and Avin Dias – Buvindu Jayawardena (Under 14) showcased a clinical performance to clinch the Boys’ Doubles titles, respectively.
The elite National Tennis Championship concluded on the SLTA hard courts in Green Path, Colombo, during the last week. It was organised by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association, and it was sponsored by YETI Isotonic, which is Sri Lanka’s number 1 sports beverage.
>>Apna and Annaya clinched SLTA – YETI Hard Court National titles<<
Under 18 Boy’s Doubles Final
During the much-awaited U18 Boys’ Final, the two Anandians, Methika Wickramasinghe and Risith Somaratne, clashed with Karthi Udayachandran (St Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya) and Binuk Silva, and the game lived up to every bit of its billing with multiple twisters in the middle.
During the first set, Binuka Silva and Karthi Udayachandran never allowed their opponents to settle and conquered to earn an easy 06 – 02 victory. However, during the second set, Methika Wickramasinghe and Risith Somaratne recovered well from their initial mistakes and gave a fine fight. At the end of the set, their valiant effort paid off as they managed to win the set with 06 – 04 points by squirting the final battle.
As expected, the third and final round was a thriller, and the set went for a tie-breaker. There was a nail-biting finish, and the set dragged on until it reached 10 points. After a brilliant fight, Methika Wickramasinghe and Risith Somaratne had the last laugh as they edged out their opponent to win the final set with 10 – 08 points. During the battle, the champion duo executed a top-notch attack by consistently using cross-court angle strikes to break the opponents’ rhythm while clinching a 02 – 01 victory.
Under 18 Girls’ Doubles Final
In the U18 Girls’ Final, the girl who is on a fine rhythm, Annaya Norbert, and Vinethya Dharmarathne fought against the rising talents of Gehansa Methnadhi and Dulkini Ranasinghe. During the game, Methnadhi and Ranasinghe showcased spirited play against the duo who reached the U18 Singles Final.
However, the experience of their opponents was instrumental as Norbert struck with some heavy shots, while Dharmarathna helped her with strategic and delicate play with soft hands. Hence, highly tactical play coupled with excellent coordination did the job for Norbert and Dharmarathne to beat their opponents with a 06 – 04 margin in each set to clinch a 02 – 00 set victory.
Despite this defeat, Methnadhi and Ranasinghe clinched the championship at the 110th Colombo Championships, which was organised by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association.
Under 16 Boys’ Doubles Final
In this Final, Shenon Anderson of Maliyadeva College and Bishman Balaratnarajah of Royal College met against St. Peter’s College star Tennis duo, Ashlin de Silva and Mayooran Kubherane. The two Peterites shared the glory in the Singles Finals, and much was expected from the duo, who were surely the favourites to win. However, Anderson and Balaratnarajah slowly and steadily built pressure on the fancied pair with their deep returns and tactical strikes. Hence, there was a huge upset when Silva and Kubherane were beaten 06 – 03 and 06 – 03 in consecutive sets.
Under 16 Girls’ Doubles Final
In the U16 Girls’ Final, the fancied pair of Sahansa Damsiluni of Visakha Vidyalaya and Eliza Kahagalla of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, fought against Vinuthi Kulathilake of Visakha Vidyalaya and Janani Dahamsa. However, Damsiluni and Kahagalla produced a flawless display without allowing their opponents to settle and clinched the coveted championship.
Under 14 Boys’ Doubles Final
The Boys’ Under 14 Doubles Final saw another dominant display as Buvindu Jayawardhana (Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala) and Avin Dias (St. Joseph’s College) played against Nuren Wevita (St. Joseph’s College) and Shannon Senadheera (Wesley College). The nippy footwork and excellent chemistry between Jayawardhane and Dias lifted the pair to the coveted title with 06 – 02 and 06 – 03 straight-set victories.
In the Boys’ U14 Doubles Semi Finals, Dias and Jayawardena defeated Faadhil Thariq and Ashok Kumar in straight sets (06 – 01 and 06 – 03), while Wevita and Senadheera beat Eshan Jayaweera and Seelan Appathiurai again in straight sets with 06 – 04 and 06 – 04 points.
Under 14 Girls’ Doubles Final
In the Girls U14 Final, the in-form duo, Dinethma Ekanayake (Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya) and Yohansa Ratnayake (Visakha Vidyalaya), proved too strong for Sethuli Muthugama (Musaeus College) and Samaira Fernando (Colombo International School). Midway, Ratnayake and Ekanayake performed well and led comfortably when Mathugama and Fernando opted to retire during the match due to an injury.
During the Girl’s U14 Doubles Semi Finals, Muthugama and Fernando resisted well against Risindi Hewawasam and Nethaya Amarasekera after a tough battle to claim a tight 02 – 01 set victory (as 06 – 04, 04 – 06 and 10 – 06). In the other Semi Final, Ratnayake and Ekanayake thumped Kiara Jayamanna and Mindihi Yejasni in two straight-set victories (06 – 01 and 07 – 06).
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, Sahansa Damsiluni and Eliza Kahagalla (Under 16), and Yohansa Rathnayake and Dinethma Ekanayakethe (Under 14), displayed dominant performances to bag the SLTA–YETI Hard Court Tennis Age Group Championships (Girls’) titles. Meanwhile, Methika Wickramasinghe - Risith Somaratne (Under 18), Shenon Anderson - Bishman Balaratnarajah (Under 16) and Avin Dias - Buvindu Jayawardena (Under 14) showcased a clinical performance to clinch the Boys’ Doubles titles, respectively.){kind=link}