The 25th Asian Table Tennis Championship is all set to kick off on the 28th of September at the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar.

A group of 9 top players have taken off from Sri Lanka with a big goal to achieve for the upcoming World Championships in 2022. The team includes 5 Men’s National players and 4 Women’s athletes, most of whom have been waiting for international competitions for over a year, which were almost non-existent due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Asian Table Tennis Championships will act as the main Qualification Games for the 2022 World Team Championships. With the world’s best-ranked countries taking part in the Games in Qatar, Sri Lanka will have their sights on qualifying for the next big Games.

Men’s Team event, Women’s Team event, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles – all events will be represented by Sri Lanka.

Men’s Team

  1. Chameera Ginige (Captain) – University of Sri Jayewardenepura
  2. Senura Silva – Ananda College, Colombo 10
  3. Milinda Lakshitha – OMBC Solutions
  4. Nimesh Ranchagoda – Sri Lanka Navy
  5. Imantha Udanjaya – Sri Lanka Army

Women’s Team

  1. Ishara Madurangi – (Captain) – Sri Lanka Ports Authority
  2. Bimandee Bandara – Hillwood College
  3. Muthumali Priyadarshani – Sri Lanka Navy
  4. Thanushi Rodrigo – Sri Lanka Army

Officials

National Coach – Mr. Chathura Dushan

Trainer/ Physio – Mr. Ravindra Jeewanatha

Men’s Doubles

Chameera Ginige/ Senura Silva

Milinda Lakshitha/ Nimesh Ranchagoda

Women’s Doubles

Ishara Madurangi/ Bimandee Bandara

Muthumali Priyadarshani/ Thanushi Rodrigo

Mixed Doubles

Ishara Madurangi/ Chameera Ginige

Senura Silva/ Bimandee Bandara

SAG silver medalists Ishara Madurangi, Chameera Ginige and Bimandi Bandara along with bronze medalist Senura Silva will be in Qatar, playing for the Lankan team. This will also be Ginige’s first tour as a National Men’s team captain.

The team also comprises four debutants, Muthumali Priyadarshani, Thanushi Rodrigo, Imantha Udanjaya and Nimesh Ranchagoda who will see the likes of an international stadium for the first time. This is also Coach Chathura Dushan and Trainer/Physio Ravindra Jeewantha’s first international tour.

The Asian Table Tennis Championship will take place from the 28th Sep to the 05th Oct. ThePapare will follow Team Sri Lanka’s progress throughout the Tournament and update you with results and other news from Qatar, so keep it logged!