Sri Lanka’s rising tennis stars excelled on the opening day at the ITF World Junior Tennis boys’ and girls’ Asia/Oceania Pre Qualifying event, which kicked off at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) in Colombo yesterday.
In the Sri Lanka versus UAE match, the Sri Lankan team triumphed with a score of 3-0. Risith Somararatna of Ananda College secured the victory in the first singles match by defeating Rashid Almaeeni from UAE with a dominating score of 6-0, 6-0.
Following suit, Ashlin de Silva of St Peter’s College claimed victory in the second singles match against Mohamed Al Ali with a score of 6-1, 6-0.
The Peterite duo of Ashlin de Silva and Mayoorsn Kubherane sealed the win for Sri Lanka in the first doubles match, defeating Abdulla Janahi and Rashid Almaeeni of UAE with another impressive scoreline of 6-0, 6-0.
On the girls’ side, Sri Lanka faced Guam and emerged victorious with a clean sweep of 3-0. Sandithi Usgodaarachchi of Musaeus College secured a convincing win in the first singles match against Leah San Agustin from Guam with scores of 6-0, 6-0. Akeesha Silva of Newstead College followed suit in the second singles match, defeated Faith Perera from Guam with an identical scoreline of 6-0, 6-0.
The doubles pairing of Annaya Norbert of Holy Family Convent and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi continued Sri Lanka’s dominance, defeating Faith Perera and Leah Agustin from Guam with a score of 6-1, 6-1.
A total of 21 boys’ teams and 14 girls’ teams are competing in the tournament, with the finals scheduled for Saturday.
The boys’ teams competing include Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Cambodia, Guam, India, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, UAE, and Yemen. Meanwhile, the girls’ teams consist of Sri Lanka, Guam, Indonesia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macau, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pacific Oceania, Philippines, and Turkmenistan.
Sri Lanka’s boys will face Lebanon in their next match today, while the girls’ team will play against either Lebanon or Kyrgyzstan.
Sajeewa Jayakody