Wheelchair tennis team shine with creditable sixth place finish at World Cup 

Sri Lanka wheelchair tennis team led by Tokyo Paralympian Suresh Dharmasena concluded the World Cup campaign with a creditable sixth place finish after former World Champions Japan beat them in the fifth place match in Sardinia, Italy on Sunday.

The team inclusive of Dharmasena, Lasantha Ranaweera and DM Gamini created history when they reached the knockout stage in this top 16 nation’s competition. They finished the group stage as runners up to France.

Sri Lanka beat Belgium 2-1 and Brazil 3-0 during the round robin stage. France were the only team to beat Sri Lanka (3-0) during that phase.

They reached the fifth place match when Gamini and Dharmasena inflicted defeats on Poland’s M Szary (6-0, 6-0) and P. Jaroszewski (6-1, 6-3) respectively.

The trio who represented Sri Lanka at this event have world rankings from 64 to 85.

Dharmasena who hails from Kahatagasdigilya is ranked 64th in the ITF World Rankings. Ranaweera who is from Pasyala is ranked 85th, while Gamini from Ampara is ranked 81th.

The Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) along with the SL Army initiated the Wheelchair Tennis Programme in 2002 as a social project for injured soldiers. Head Coach Jagath Welikala has been part of the program since its inception and has produced over 30 internationally-ranked players.

The SLTA President Iqbal bin Issack, General Secretary Pradeep Goonasekera, VP Wheelchair Tennis Major General Shiran Abeysekera and main sponsor Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) were instrumental in housing the players in Colombo, arranging specialist training with Head Coach, Jagath Welikala, Consultant Coach, Guyanga Weerasekera and European training with legendary wheelchair coach Aad Zawan in the lead up to the event.

A note from SLTA said that it intends to invest further into the development of the Wheelchair Tennis Program to fulfill the goal of a Paralympic Medal in Paris 2024.