An absorbing men’s final between Nirmala Jayasinghe and Dinesh Deshapriya was by far the highlight of the All Island Open Ranking Table Tennis tournament conducted by the Kandy District Table Tennis Association over three days at the Jagath Rajapakse Stadium in Doluwa.
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| Nirmala Jayasinghe |
Deshapriya, Sri Lanka’s second ranked player took an early two set lead over Nirmala Jayasinghe, ranked number three. Jayasinghe equalized at two sets all for Deshapriya to win the fifth. But Jayasinghe showed that he was not a small fish in the tank by coming back strongly to take the last two shots which was anybody’s game in the last point. Deshapriya used an anti-spin rubber which had the effect of slowing down the pace and reducing the spin and backhand top spin judiciously. The winner’s tactic of targeting his opponent’s weak point in an all out body ball attack paid rich dividends.
Sri Lanka’s leading player Rohan Sirisena lost to both Jayasinghe and Deshapriya in the league stage and, thus, had to be content with the third place. This showed that the top-ranked players mentioned above are more or less of the same standard.
Former Devananda and present Air Force player Ishara Maduranga won a triple to emphasize the fact that there is none to touch her. She won the singles final in straight sets beating Erandi Warusavithane. However, it was a good match. Not to be outdone, some of Kandy’s talented junior players Udaya Ranasinghe, Prabodhana Rodrigo, Ochini Dissanaike and Thanushi Rodrigo performed very creditably.
A few words about former player turned coach turned philanthropist, Jagath Rajapakse. The stadium which is his brainchild has sixteen tables with play going on simultaneously. Further, this is the only venue in Sri Lanka that has a carpeted floor as opposed to a wooden one. This is the way to go, internationally speaking. The presence of a former president of TTASL Pesi Pestonjee was much acclaimed. Not in the best of health, he took the trouble however, to make it to the venue on the final day. Pesi took part in his heydays in the Indian nationals on two occasions.
Results
Girls - Under-10: Imasha de Silva (Dharmasoka) beat Natasha Sandavinee (Maligedara BV); Under-12: Sheshala Bandara (St. Joseph’s GS) beat Roshni Dahanaike (HFC Kurunegala); Under-15: Ruvini Kannangara (Museaus) beat Umaya Tharaki (Dharmasoka); Under-18: Erandi Warusavithane (Dharmasoka) beat Ruvini Kannangara (Museaus)
Boys - Under-10: Helika Hendavitharana (Dharmasoka) beat Tharusha Dulmith (Dharmasoka); Under-12: P.D.U. Tennakoon (Dharmaraja) beat Charith Viman (Dharmasoka); Under-15: Udaya Ranasinghe (Vidyartha) beat Nuwantha Niroshana (Dharmasoka); Under-18: Chameera Guruge (Dharmasoka) beat Malith Dilusha (Devananda).
Most outstanding player (women) - Ishani Madurangi
Most outstanding player (men) - Nirmala Jayasinghe | 
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