Lalith says the ‘player’ label still fits him perfectly

By A Special Sports Correspondent

Former table tennis national champion Lalith Priyantha says he was never the best player that the country produced. But he keeps winning at every veterans’ tournament he enters. Just recently he won a triple crown at the Veterans’ Table Tennis Championships, held for the year 2022. He played with lightning speed when he was young and continues to play the same fast game even today at the age of 57. He still gets the ‘wow’ response from the crowd and destroys his opponents; like in the good old days when he represented Akbar Brothers and won the national singles crown on three consecutive years (1988, 1989 and 1990).

He made his start with humble beginnings and grew into something big that even the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka (Board of Control for Table Tennis in Sri Lanka back then) could not handle. He was the rebel in the eyes of the administrators and the darling of the crowd. He was clinical in his approach; there was no fancy foot work during games and boasting before a match like boxer Mohammad Ali did. He was an executioner and he killed them all with his ‘rubber’. The ideal term that describes him would be swift assassin.

Lalith is still the same. Now he is a table tennis coach and also sells insurance. The appetite shown to win at table tennis tournaments is also shown in his quest to reach a stable and successful life. He enjoys his favourite brand of distilled spirits in the evening and has a stock answer for those who complain about costing of living rising high in Sri Lanka. “If the cost of living is rising and your salary is not enough earn a little more. Never sacrifice the things that you love to do in life” is how he resonated his answer when this scribe asked the same question during an interview with him at his residence in Kotikawatte.

Lalith has great public relations skills. He has courtesy, convincing power and the knack to learn fast. When one compares him with other table tennis players of his era Lalith is streets ahead in the life he has created for himself outside the ‘world’ of table tennis. He lets off this vibe of having a successful life and sincerely hopes others would pick it up from him; like catching infleuza! This could be because he belongs to an era where players who played the game back then spoke in English, were happy and were gainfully employed. He too had this life as a competitive sportsman.

But there are a fair share of critics who envy his great run in the sport. They want a change in champion at the veterans’ singles event which Lalith has won at over 50 such tournaments. He has a few ‘medicines’ for good health and happiness, but he sadly says that there is no cure for jealousy. At this recently concluded veterans’ tournament, played at S.Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia Gymnasium, he beat Chaminda Rodrigo in the singles final and teamed up with Dietmar Doering in the doubles final to beat Gamini Moraes and Thilakananda. In the mixed doubles he was partnered by Ira Ruwanpathirana from the preliminary matches onwards till they successfully completed a rout and won the final showdown too.

However he extends a helping hand to anyone who seeks his assistance in sports or outside the sporting arena. Some of those people who receive his help are those who at one time wished he’ll fall. He credits his toughness endure challenges to the three ‘Ds’ he practices; dedication, devotion and determination.

He could be termed as one of the administrators in table tennis who sincerely promoted and worked towards the welfare of the sport. He was the president of the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka; first in the accounting year 1999-2000 and then again for the accounting year 2000-2001. The best thing which happened during his tenure as president was players receiving certificates and medals at the semi-final stage of tournaments. The result? “For the first time in the sport’s history, after many years, the stadiums were full with spectators even on the final day of table tennis tournaments. The other good thing which happened to the sport during this time was the TTASL’ officials finding sponsorships for the players who were selected for overseas tournaments. “No player had to go with a begging bowl to sponsors in search of funds. I had my way of convincing sports ministry officials that the players had to have funds and the tours would give much international exposure to the players,” said Lalith. That was how strong an administrator he was and between serving the TTASL as an official he has also time and again accompanied the national men’s and women’s table tennis teams as Sri Lanka coach on one-off tours.

Still, despite all those successes, Lalith never misses an opportunity to play in veterans’ tournaments. He feels he has had enough as an administrator. He had his moment of glory at the International Veterans’ Table Tennis Championships Sri Lanka hosted in 2017 and went on to beat Indian Sunil Babras in the early stages of that tournament. However, Babras bounced back and played strongly before winning the singles crown.

There is some spark that ignites within him when he gets an opportunity to play even today. Now, despite battling fitness issues due to lack of time to practice, he still enters all veterans’ tournaments. When this writer asked whether he has anything to prove to the table tennis commune at home and himself by still wanting to play he had this to say, “I still want to be known as a player.