Sukitha - the latest sensation in the local TT scene

Sanjaya Ariyaratne

TABLE TENNIS: Sukitha Wickramanayake, a proud product of Dharmaraja College, Kandy is the latest sensation in the local table tennis scene having made a tremendous impact at the recently concluded 60th Senior National championships at S. Thomas' College, Indoor Stadium, Mount Lavinia.

The sixteen year old juvenile had a memorable outing where he clinched three major titles in a spectacular manner.

Sukitha completed his triple after having won the boys under 15 singles, under 18 singles along with the under 18 doubles event.

According to the Sri Lanka Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka 2006 rankings Wickramanayake was the number one paddler in the under 18 age group category.

Sukitha with a smile on his face said that he began his Table Tennis career in early year 2000. During this short period of time he has participated in several tournaments here and abroad and he has produced some stunning performances to win many titles to bring honour to his school and also to the country.

He said that he can be satisfied with his achievements during this short span. He won the under eleven boys title at the senior national championships in 2002 and won the under thirteen crown for boys in the senior national championships in 2004. Sukitha also won several medals in overseas tournaments.

He brought honour and fame to the country by winning a silver medal in the under fifteen singles event at the South Asian Senior Table Tennis championships worked off in New Delhi, India in the year 2005. There he overcame several top players in the cadet event to secure his title.

In the same tournament Wickramanayake continued his dominance in under 18 doubles event with bagging a bronze medal. He also was a member of the under 18 team where Sri Lankan paddlers won the silver medal competing in under 18 team event. Sukitha was the youngest paddler in the team.

In the same year he was a member of the Sri Lanka boys team which won a bronze medal in the under 18 age group category at the 3rd International Asian Schools table tennis championships staged in Malaysia.

In 2006 he won another bronze medal in the under 18 boys doubles and a silver medal in the under 18 team event at the South Asian Senior Table Tennis championships held in Calcutta, India.

In the same year he captained the Sri Lanka cadet team where they won a bronze medal in the under 15 event in International Senior Table Tennis championships conducted in Calcutta, India. He also captained the team which participated at the International Table Tennis championships in Iran this year.

Sukitha does his training under the guidance of Chaminda Rodrigo and Nuwan Sampath. His ambition is to represent Sri Lanka and to bring more glory to the country.