Sheshala - a TT star in the making

SAMPATH BANDARA

Sheshala Bandara of St. Joseph's Balika Vidyalaya, Kegalle is a bright prospect for Sri Lanka Table Tennis.

Sheshala was adjudged the Most Outstanding Girls Player in the All Island Intermediate Novices Table Tennis Championship recently worked off at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.

Sheshala is a schoolgirl prodigy with excellent performances. She started playing Table Tennis at the age of seven years. Now she is only 10 years old (Grade Six). She began playing Table Tennis with her first Coach being Sampath Hapuarachchi and she is also following in the footsteps of her elder sister who has played Table Tennis at school level.

In the year 2006, she won her first ever TT Championship. She emerged champion in the Under-8 Age Group of the Sabaragamuwa Province Open Table Tennis Championship.

In 2007, she emerged champion in the Promising Table Tennis Championship and bagged third place in the All Island Championship.

She also won the Senkadagala Triangular TT Championship and emerged champion in an invitation Table Tennis Championship (Under-8) and was able to emerge runner-up in the Sri Lanka vs Maldives Inter-school and Club Table Tennis Championship.

In 2008, Sheshala won the All Island Intermediate Novices and B.L.A. Samarasekera Memorial Championships (Under-10 Category) and was able to bag the Sabaragamuwa Province TT (Under-10) Championship.

She clinched the Under-15 and Under-18 Championship in the All Island Intermediate Novices Table Tennis Championship and was adjudged the Most Outstanding Girls TT player.

She paid a glowing tribute to her Coaches Chaminda Rodrigo and Amila Pradeep Kumara and her loving mother for taking great pains to mould her into a Table Tennis star.