Table Tennis on the road to progress in Sri Lanka – Table Tennis update
Sri Lanka has launched various table tennis activities in the country in order to develop the sport further. The Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka (TTASL) has selected top the 20 boy’s and girl’s table tennis players for a training course. The course
will also cater to players in the under-12 category to develop the game from the grass root level.
The 20 players will attend a course which will be held by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). This course is linked with the ITTF Hope Developmental Programme. The main aim of the course is to train young players who have an urge to excel in
table tennis. These players will play a vital role in developing the sport and to reach higher standards with their abilities.
The players will also be provided with opportunities and scholarships so that they can take part in international camps and international competitions. The 20 selected players will also feature in the ITTF Hopes International TT Championships scheduled to
be held in June 2011 at Vienna, Austrian.
The players are selected on the basis of their performance in the past events. Especially the ones who have excelled at the Sri Lankan Table Tennis National Championship held in 2010 and also have shown an outstanding performance in ITTF ranking tournaments.
These players will be trained under the supervision of Mr Dejan Papic, who is the head coach of the ITTF Hopes Developmental Programme. Dejan is currently residing in Canada and is from Yugoslavia. The 49-year-old coach is considered the most experienced
coach on the table tennis circuit in the world.
The training camp is to be held at Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, which is a newly built city in the South of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Saint Thomas Indoor stadium will be the venue for the camp.
The players have already started training at the Fisheries Hall located at Ambalangoda, a southern coastal city. The camp is being headed by Chathura Dushan, Sri Lankan National coach. The main focus is to prepare the paddlers for the Commonwealth Games
2018.
The training camp is going to start today April 26 and will conclude on April 29. After the camp, one boy and one girl will be selected on their performance from the under-12 category, who will be attending ITTF Hope Week in June at the Werner Schlager Academy,
Vienna.
The TTASL has also nominated six of the best players from the Under-15 category on the request of Dejan. These players will be joining the camp along with the other players. The Vice president of TTASL Chandana Perera said, "This is a very good opportunity
for the Under 15 players to improve their skills under one of the world's best coaches. I am also trying to persuade Dejan to include one girl and a boy in under -15 category too for a similar scholarship,"
On the conclusion of the camp a Hopes Table Tennis Championship will held at Indoor Stadium in Horana.
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