Nirmala prefers to nurture talent over being dragonslayer at TT

By a Special Sports Correspondent

Table tennis veteran Nirmala Jayasinghe sees a competitive atmosphere around him, but he still believes extending the hand of camaraderie to youngsters who are hungry for success and practicing hard.

Jayasinghe is a coach cum player and has been playing for the national team for the past 14 years (2010-2023). He is aged 41 now and spends much of his time sharing knowledge with players and nurturing young talent. He worked 17 long years for Mass Holdings, a giant in the merchandising business, but has now quit his place of employment and concentrates on making a living through his involvement in table tennis.

One might ask him whether it’s wise to share knowledge with youth players who have the age advantage over him when he too envisions retaining his slot in the national team. This is his response, “I believe that a senior player like me must do his part to nurture young talent. These young players must come up and older players like me can benefit by playing against young players possessing new skills and fitness. I too improve my skills when playing against up and coming players”.

Jayasinghe has completed the ITTF –PIT Level 1 coaching exam, ITTF Level 2 coaching exam and has now qualified for the ITTF Level 3 coaching course. He coached Kingswood College Kandy for 8 years and also had stints with Girls’ High School Kandy and the University of Peradeniya as table tennis coach. He wishes to see table tennis in Sri Lanka being lifted a few notches and for that he has two recommendations. “You either have to send the coaches abroad and train them at the next level or send players abroad and get them exposed to new knowledge,” opined Jayasinghe.

He remembers playing table tennis for his alma mater Vidyartha College Kandy from a very young age. That was a time when the school had the influence of a legend in the sport called Thilina Piyadasa. Jayasinghe remembers playing table tennis at that time when this great player was around. Piyadasa left Sri Lanka in 2007 and the responsibility of taking over table tennis in the Central Province fell on players like Jayasinghe. This is one reason why he has juggled a playing career with a coaching. A player with a large heart always sees the sport as a bigger entity than his personal goal. Players in the likes of Udaya Ranasinghe and Prasad de Silva came up and dazzled here and abroad thanks to his influence on them in coaching. Both Ranasinghe and De Silva are old boys of Vidyartha College. Thanks to the commitment and guidance given to the sport by players like Jayasinghe table tennis is today among the top most popular sports in Kandy.

As the years rolled on he became national champion (2012) and has emerged as men’s open singles champion in ranking tournaments over 10 times. He also plays in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles events. It was a little late when he was picked to represent the national side for the first time because he had reached the age of 28 by then. At that time (2010) he was the only known national player from Central Province to make it to the national team.

He has had the good fortune of representing Sri Lanka at top events like Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Lusofonia Games and the South Asian Games. Jayasinghe said that he has played his best table tennis when competing against European talent. For the record he won a second place in the ‘Fifth Division’ at the World Table Tennis Championships in 2012 held in Germany. He won a Silver medal at the South Asian Games in 2016, a Bronze medal at the 3rd Lusofonia Games in India in 2014 and finished among the best 8 players in the South Asian Region Qualifying Championships in 2022 and held in Nepal.

He is a married man and said that he receives the fullest support from his wife Sachi for his endeavours in table tennis. He has two daughters and both of them are playing the sport at a competitive level. “Unlike before I have time for my family and don’t wish to move out from where I live when pursuing my table tennis coaching because there is much support for me here in Kandy for whatever I do” said Jayasinghe.

Jayasinghe is a household name in table tennis at home and a lovely personality who’ll stop at nothing to extend a helping hand to a player in need of advice or coaching. Fans will remember him for the shots he has played at the tables and the victories he has recorded in the sport. But what will stand the test of time are the memories associated with him for being a such a humble guy and not allowing any of his success go to his head.