The recently concluded Tennis Junior Nationals saw an unfamiliar name beside the Under 18 Singles title winner’s column. The name surprised the audience who attended the awards night at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association when they saw the prized silverware of the Junior Nationals taken by a young 14-year-old.
Standing tall at 14 years, the gallant Thomian Avindra Perera walked on to stage with a big smile on his face to take the coveted silverware from the chief guest. It was a complete twist of events in the main draw of the Junior Nationals as the perseverance and the endurance shown by the fourteen year old warrior saw him overcome a David-Goliath battle in the top division. He went on to create history when he defeated the experienced Aadavan Pushparaj to take his first Under 18 title.
Standing at over 5”5 tall, Avindra certainly has the look of a professional tennis player. ThePapare.com got to speak to the national champion himself prior to the public schools tennis tournament to learn more about his journey thus far and what his aims for the future are.
Having started playing tennis because of his mother’s passion for the sport, Avindra mentions that he faced a difficult decision early on his career with regards to picking Tennis as the way forward.
“I think my mother inspired me to take up tennis. I was a rugby player myself. I played rugby from under 10 and I even was first team material but then one year they stopped rugby so I started playing tennis.”
“My first coach who inspired me to take the racket forward was Mr. Sudantha Soyza. He was the first person who coached me to take up the sport and continue on”
Avindra describes his first entry to the national championships in the year 2009 as a feeling that brought him goosebumps; he later went on to claim three junior titles.
“I first played in the Otters tournament in 2009. That was my first ranking tournament. My first nationals were in 2009. It was a new feeling for me but then I realized I had an edge over everyone else. I first won the under 10 age group and then I found myself in the finals of the under 12 and 14 as well. So I took my chances and ended up winning the other two as well.”
Avindra recalls that building his way up after an illness was the greatest challenge he has faced in his life having contracted Dengue on two occasions.
“My weakness is that I get sick a lot. I often get injuries and have had dengue twice. In times like that I have to stay away from playing for over two months and then it is always hard to get your rhythm back. You’ll need to start playing twenty minute sessions and later increase”
This 2015 season has been Avindra’s best so far, fighting his way through the heavyweights in the under 18 division to end up in the finals. 
“It was a tough match in the quarter finals to defeat the defending champion B Suren. I thought about it and later on I succeeded in doing so. But then I realized I had an even bigger challenge ahead of me; that was Chehan Fernando.
“He was an athlete at least twice my size and it was a do or die situation for me. But my will power kept me going and I ended up winning the game.”
Avindra thinks that Chehan Fernando of St. Peter’s College will be one of the players that he will be challenged by during the course of his career.
“Chehan is the one of most fierce players I have faced. He is a great player having played for a long time.”
Entering the under 18 final at an age of 14, Avindra was one game away from taking home his first premiere title on offer. He had to face senior-man Aadavan Pushparaj in order to win the title. Rather than a stereotypical head to head description of his opponent, he shared a fond memory.
“Aadavan’s and my rivalry goes way back to the year 2010. I faced him for the under 14 final that year and he walked away with the win and vice-versa for the past few years, the two of us have been meeting each other in finals in different tournaments. It was friendly rivalry on that day facing Pushparaj and I believed that I could win it.”
“I just wanted to play game. I think being myself helped me to recover and fight back when Aadavan won the first game and I ended up winning the other two take the win”
Roger Federer is his idol and so Avindra believes that hard work and dedication will soon get him to a higher altitude in terms of the sport.
“I have to put in a lot of dedication if I need keep up in my tennis. I train both in Sri Lanka and also spend time in Thailand under Domic Ultzinger; the national coach at selected times so that I can improve my game. It is tough to balance all of it alongside studies but I have succeeded so far and I hope I can carry on.”
“I enjoy playing the sport with Inthujan Selvaratnarajah. He and I blend well in playing so we make a good doubles team. Also playing with Dineshkanthan is always a learning experience because during play, he always shows what is right and what is not. During the Colombo Championships, I was able to play with Ashvin Vijaragavan from India and playing with him gave me a huge boost of confidence and he actually helped me improve my game”
With an illustrious career ahead, Avindra has belief in himself that he will someday be able to bring Sri Lanka a grand slam title and create history in the sport.
“I want to win a Grand Slam”
“Winning a Grand Slam is the ultimate goal in my career. I would also love to end up in the top 100 ranked players in the world. I know what I am talking about is a long walk forward but I will give it a shot.”
With hopes reaching up to the international stage, we hope young Avindra Perera will achieve success in his conquest to become one of the greats.
