Sri Lanka’s top ranked tennis player and David Cup lynchpin, Harshana Godamanne, has decided to step away from the game for two years, in order to focus on his higher education in the US. He said he is travelling to America solely for the purpose of furthering his education and he was uncertain whether he would be actively engaged in tennis while doing so.

Harshana Godamanne

“I am not sure right now about how much tennis I will be playing, I have to assess that once I go there,” he revealed, speaking on the eve of his departure. “Not playing regularly will definitely have an impact on my game, but I feel once I return I can get back to my old form after playing a bit.” Nevertheless the tennis star did stress that he would continue working on his fitness while he was away.

President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA), Maxwell De Silva said that he was confident this new development would not hurt the country’s Davis Cup aspirations.

“Harshana is not like other local tennis players. They use tennis to help them go abroad and get an education but he has a deep love for the game. We start our David Cup matches in June which is the time he has his summer vacation, so he should be back to play,” he asserted.

In response Godamanne said if the SLTA felt he was good enough to play then he certainly would be willing to turn up for the country.

Speaking about the other players who can also help support or perhaps even replace Godamanne, Mr. De Silva mentioned Thangarajah Dineshkanthan and youngster Sharmal Dissanayake.

Sri Lanka is currently languishing in Group Three of the Asia Oceania zone after crashing out of Group Two when they suffered defeats to New Zealand and Hong Kong. Throughout each of these clashes, Godamanne was a steady force in the team, playing a central leadership role as well as contributing with his immense skill.