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Hard at play: (Above) The players sweat it out (Right) Rasanjali Priyadarshini, the only woman player Pix by J. Weerasekera

Wheelchair tennis helps this group discover new strengths
A different serve
By Ishani Ranasinghe and Ruwanthi de Silva
They're hard at practice every morning on the tennis court, playing the game with great enthusiasm. But it's not just their passion for the sport that makes them special. They play tennis on wheelchairs.

While many would succumb to their fate, for these courageous few, their disabilities (most of them a result of injuries suffered in the war) have made them stronger and more focused on the need to succeed in life. Almost all of them have developed into good players who have participated in international tournaments and brought home medals.

Even though wheel chair tennis was around in Sri Lanka earlier it lasted only a short time. Captain of the team, Raju, has been playing for the past three years, ever since wheelchair tennis was reintroduced at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association SLTA. In the beginning there was a selection process where the skills of the players were evaluated. A three-day workshop brought together almost 100 disabled people, out of which 25 were chosen.

"At first there were just a few players and we were trained by an Australian coach named Mark," Raju said. Later many other trainers from different countries visited them and helped them in their pursuit of excellence. "We started playing wheelchair tennis seriously in 2001 when we entered a few tournaments."

In 2002 their hard work was rewarded when they emerged the division 'D' doubles champions in Thailand. "This has really helped me," says Wijesuriya, a soldier who says that he was able to cope with the trauma of disability because of tennis. "The disability did not become a stumbling block for us; the game helped us and gave us hope."

Passionate about the game, he says that wheelchair tennis takes them away from the monotonous life they lead. "This is a good diversion and we hope to reach new heights with our tennis," he says.

M.G. Balasuriya having served in the Army for over 12 years has been playing wheelchair tennis for almost seven months. "Last year we went for the Thailand Open and came first in the Doubles," he says proudly adding that there were 11 countries participating in this tournament. They were placed third in the singles and doubles at the Malaysian Open held in September this year. " This was in the 'B' division. We hope to move onto the 'A' division one day."

All the male players are from different regiments of the Army. Coming from all over Sri Lanka many players are given accommodation if they do not live close to Colombo.
The only female player is 23-year-old Rasanjali Priyadarshini who began playing just three months ago. Disabled from birth, she is a talented sportswoman who won the Silver and Bronze medals in Javelin throwing and Discus throwing in Korea last year. Now into tennis, she has been practising hard aiming to take part in international competitions. "I wish more women were interested in the game. This is a wonderful opportunity for us," she says, adding that it needs a lot of dedication and effort to succeed.

There are certainly many difficulties they face. "It is at times difficult to direct the wheelchair and the speed is also not enough," says Raju adding that there are wheelchairs that are made especially for wheelchair tennis. “But it is hard to get them because of our lack of funds.”

"The facilities that we are given are pretty good, though," remarks Balasuriya, confident that they could do much better if they had more help coming their way.
Having trained them for the past eight months Jagath Welikela feels that there has been steady progress. "We have gone from 'D' division to 'B' division in the space of a few months," he said. The players are hoping to go for the World Cup to be held in New Zealand next year."

He added that they would not have been able to come this far if not for the support of the SLTA and Colonel Chrys De Silva. Comparing the Sri Lankan team with other teams in the world Jagath says, "Considering the facilities we have I think the team is doing very well. This is a group of players who are very motivated and committed to their game."

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