It was a wonderful atmosphere prevailing around the Garden Club courts situated in the Kandy Garden Club when the finals of the Garden Club open championships were worked off.
Organized by the Kandy Garden Club, the Open championships are targeted to uplift the racket sport in the Central region with the active participation of over 100 players coming in from the Districts of Kandy, Matale, Badulla & Nuwareliya. It was a tournament that lifted the morale up in the junior levels giving them the motivation to go the distance and end up being professional tennis players. The tournament was held for the age groups of 7 to 16 with the inclusion of Boys and Girls events.
Kaveesha Supunsara secured the Girls under 18 title in a close contest defeating the experienced Dulsha Dissanayaka. It was the Trinity duo Udan Hettiarachchi and Dinuja Palihawadana who took the spotlight in the tournament participating in the under 16 double title winning the finals decisively. The Trinity pair defeated seven-year-old Sakya Jayawardena and T. Sajithiran.
The Boys doubles saw some exciting gameplay in the junior games where the budding tennis players making their way to the courts for their first ever professional tournament. Young Janesha Chandeepa came in as winners and Ganidu Lakshan ended up as runner up. It was double honors for Yeshan Ranathunga who walked away with the Boys under 8 & under 10 singles and finished second in the Boys under 12 singles.
Nipuna Nuwan who won the Boys under 7 single, teamed up with Banura Pahan to win the Under 7 doubles championships. The highlight in the Girls category was Dulsha Dissanyaka who walked out of the club courts with a double title. Dulsha won both the Under 18 & Under 16 doubles along with partners Rashmi Niyangoda and Amasha Peiris.
Full list of winners:
Boys under 7 Single
Winner- Janeesha Chandeepa
Runnerup- Gaindu Lakmal
Boys under 8 Single
Winner- Yeshan Ranathunge
Runnerup- Savitha Gunawardane
Boys under 10 Single
Winner- Yeshan Ranathunge
Runnerup- Parakrma Sooriyabandara
Boys under 12 Single
Winner- Nipuna Nuwan
Runnerup- Yeshan Ranathunge
Boys under 7 Double
Winner- Banura Pahan/ Nipuna Nuwan
Runnerup- Sakya Jayawardane/ Uvindu Hadapandgoda
Boys under 16 Double
Winner- Udan Hettiarachchi/ Dinuja Palihawadana
Runnerup- T. Sajithran/ Sakya Jayawardane
Veterans over 45 Double
Winner- R. Ramanathan/ M.A.C Perera
Runnerup- A. Dhanthanarayana/ T. Rathnayake
Girls under 7 Single
Winner- Thumuli Pilapitiya
Runnerup- Kaveesha Sirimanna
Girls under 8 Single
Winner- Ruvi Leukebandara
Runnerup- Esitana Suresh Kumar
Girls under 10 Single
Winner- Ruvi Leukebandara
Runnerup- Inuki Thimanya
Girls under 18 Single
Winner- Kaveesha Supunsara
Runnerup- Dulsha Dissanayake
Girls under 12 Double
Winner- A. Thalahagoda/ Uthkarsha Ranasinghe
Runnerup- Tiara Beneragama/ Sethmi Sumanaweera
Girls under 16 Double
Winner- Amasha Peris/ Dulsha Dissanayake
Runnerup- Uthkarsha Ranasinghe/ Amashi Thalahgoda
Girls under 18 Double
Winner- Rashmi Niyangoda/ Dulsha Dissanayake
Runnerup- Nitharshana/ Lashani
