Sports

Mercantile Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka: 65 Years on

Published

4 years ago

2022/10/26

By Eric Motha
Founder member and former president of
Mercantile Table Tennis Association

The Inter Club Championships of the Mercantile Table Tennis Association (MTTA) were successfully conducted in September as a prelude to the Open Championships scheduled for November 2022.

The MTTA has grown in stature and popularity over the passage of time with an array of dedicated officials totally committed to continuing the saga that commenced in the mid 50’s with delegates from the Mercantile Sector and Commercial Banks. It behoves us to recall and remember Messrs. Robin L Rutnam, M. Balaji, AK Nesaratnam, NM Udeshi, Charlie Daniel, Noshir Lakdawalla, C. Paramananthan who guided the destinies of the Association during the formative years. The baton was then handed over to charismatic Chandrakant Mohanlal Vasa whose contribution was unique in many aspects. He will always be remembered with respect and affection by all those who had the fortune of teaming up in implementing several programs during his tenure.

In 1969 history was created when the inaugural “BOUNCING BALL” was organized when Noshir Lakadawalla was president. The event, a first in the Mercantile sector, was revived after a hiatus by energetic Vice President Rodney St. John. It proved the ideal forum for the TT players and guests to join in revelry and camaraderie at the conclusion of the Association’s program. On a sad note Noshir Lakadawalla passed away this year in USA. He held the distinction of having won the National Men’s title whilst as a student at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and aged 15.

Vasa possessed a vision for the MTTA and during his Presidency extending over a decade and ushered in a new era with a marked increase in the number of TT players in the Mercantile sector and securing sponsors, a requisite for a viable sports organization. He was ably assisted by a team comprising Rodney St. John, W. Daluwatte, AK Issadeen, Rasakantha Rasiah, Annesley Gomez, Lucian Alles, Leonard Perera, NE Thangarajah, Sarath Gunaratne, Sunimal Salgadoe. Francis Legrand, Austin Fernando, Ajith Gamage, MR Jabir, Sunil Meewewa, Darlon Pereira, DM Munasinghe, Shirley Botejue, ACM Rauff, D’Oliviera, Tony Antonius and Robert Joseph among others. The writer succeeded Vasa at the helm followed by GEP Jayatileke, MR Jabir, Sarath Gunaratne, Ajith Gamage, Rajive Wijetunge, Vimarshana Gammanpila, Sukhita Samarakkody and Chanaka Perera the current President.

It is on record that several officials of the MTTA were elected to serve in the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka. They were involved in both Associations and carried out their duties with equal candour and dedication solely motivated by an innate desire to serve. The officials were: Sarath Gunaratne, Rajiva Wijetunge, Lalith Priyantha (Presidents) V. Gammanpila and Ashan Wickramanayake (VP) Ajith Gamage, Reza Latiff and Dhananjaya Dharmarathne (Secretary) and Gamunu Prabath (Asst. Treasurer)

It is a matter of pride that the MTTA had through the decades produced a galaxy of players who emerged as national champions and ranked players and represented the country at international tournaments with success: NM Udeshi, Charlie Daniel, Chrys Gunaratne, Noshir Lakdawalla, Paul Thambinayagam, RK Singham, K Arichandran, KC Chandraraj, Pesi Pestonjee, Annesley Gomez, Suresh Melvani, Ashok Melvani, Angelo Santiago, Rasakantha Rasiah. Sarath Gunaratne, MB De Silva, Ramesh Dharamdas, George Van Hoff, I Jayasiri, Lalith Priyantha, Shabbar and Shabbir Hussain,WA Buddhasiri,Nihal Gunaratne, Lalith PereraThilina Piyadasa, Nirmala Jayasinghe, KST Chalitha Rangana, Chameera Ginige.

Belle Weerakoon, Cuckoo Fonseka, Nandini Daniel, Srini Lucas, Carol Rudolph, Swarna Peiris, Namal Gunasekera, Shyamalee Dias, Tamara Hewage, Kalpani Herath, Srimali Wimalaratne, Deepika Kotinkaduwa, Saranga De Silva, Sachie Tennekoon. My apologies for omissions, if any.

Thilina Piyadasa has annexed the National Men’s Championship for a record seven times.

Rajiva Wijetunge holds a prolific record as an administrator, selector and player having participated in MTTA tournaments for 40 years and helped Ceylon Tobacco and MAS Holdings to win the ‘A’ Division Championships on several occasions. He won the Veterans Singles Championship too. Rajiva holds the record of being the 1st Sri Lankan to win a Medal for TT at the World Masters Games held in Canada in 2006. He also won medals for Sri Lanka with creditable performances at the World Masters and Masters Championships in South Africa and New Zealand adding to his laurels. The Association had the privilege and patronage of sponsors and Vice Patrons since its inception. Messrs. M. Balaji, NM Udeshi. AK Nesaratnam, Ana Punchihewa, Dr. IA Ismail, LCR Wijetunge, Inayet Akberally, Aloy Ratnayake and Chandrakant Vasa made a significant contribution.

Sukhita Samarakkody during his term as President organized a very successful Awards Night. The tradition will continue with the Colours Awards ceremony scheduled for December 10, 2022 under the chairmanship of Chanaka Perera, the current President.

Rajiva Wijetunge, Ajith Gamage and M Ruzaik Jabir teamed up well with Vimarshana Gammanpila, Sukitha Samarakkody and the incumbent President who followed them in office with their advice and necessary assistance in furthering the activities of the MTTA with diligence and commitment. The amalgam between the MTTA and TTASL was a key factor in the smooth functioning of both sports bodies. It is encouraging to learn that this partnership in promoting Table Tennis at the Mercantile and National levels proved a great success.

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India to host inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in February

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/3

Priyan

The Brabourne Stadium hasn't hosted an international game since December 2022 [BCCI]

The inaugural six-team Women’s Champions Trophy has been moved from Sri Lanka to India, and will be played in Mumbai and Vadodara from February 14 to 28 next year.

The Brabourne Stadium and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium will host the T20 tournament. Despite losing the hosting rights because of government interference in their cricket board, Sri Lanka will still be part of the tournament, having qualified after being in the top six of the T20I rankings on the July 6 qualification cut-off date. Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa are the other teams.

According to a media release, the ICC assessed three candidates – Bangladesh, India and South Africa – against its established host evaluation criteria before recommending India as the replacement host on Wednesday.

The Brabourne Stadium hasn’t hosted an international game since December 2022, when India women hosted Australia for a T20I series. It hosted the first-ever season of the WPL in 2023 and also a few matches in 2025. Vadodara, meanwhile, has hosted WPL matches in 2025 and 2026.

The Champions Trophy was due to be Sri Lanka’s second ICC event in two years after they also co-hosted the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup with India. The six participating teams will compete in a round-robin league, with the top two sides advancing to the final on February 28.

The SLC is under interim administration, called the Transformation Committee, which was put in place by the Sri Lankan government and will oversee major board changes including those to its constitution. The ICC does not recognise politically appointed administrations and SLC representatives have not been at ICC board meetings since the Transformation Committee was put in place.

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Mendis, Nissanka return for England white ball series

Published

15 hours ago

2026/09/3

Sahan Weerasooriya

Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka return to the side after missing India Tests due to injuries.

by Rex Clementine

Prolific batsman Pathum Nissanka and white-ball captain Kusal Mendis are back in the fold after being named in Sri Lanka’s ODI and T20 squads for the six-match tour of England later this month.

Both Mendis and Nissanka missed the recent Test series against India through injury. Nissanka was recovering from wrist surgery, while Mendis suffered a hamstring injury during the LPL. It was the first major injury setback for the wicketkeeper batter, who has been a fixture in the Sri Lankan side for more than a decade.

Interestingly, Charith Asalanka has returned to the leadership group as vice-captain. Asalanka was stripped of the captaincy in both white ball formats earlier this year and subsequently fell out of favour with the selectors. His elevation suggests that the experiment of grooming Kamindu Mendis as the all-format vice-captain has, for the moment at least, been shelved.

There are, however, a few concerns heading into the tour. Kusal Mendis and Dushmantha Chameera have not featured in the ongoing domestic tournament, leaving them short of competitive cricket. Chameera’s lack of preparation will be particularly concerning given the fast bowler’s lengthy history of injuries. Pathum Nissanka did turn up for NCC though during this week’s T-20 competition but didn’t make an impact.

The inclusion of 28-year-old leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage in the ODI squad has also raised a few eyebrows.

While Sri Lanka’s T20 game remains a work in progress, their ODI fortunes have taken a significant turn for the better. The side has found consistency and made rapid strides, underlined by automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. It is a marked contrast to the build-up to the 2023 edition, when Sri Lanka were forced to travel to Zimbabwe and negotiate the qualifying tournament to earn their place at the World Cup.

Sri Lanka will begin the tour with the T20 series, with Southampton hosting the opener on September 15. The teams then travel to Cardiff and Manchester before the ODI leg gets underway at Chester-le-Street. Headingley will stage the second ODI, with the tour concluding at The Oval.

The Sri Lankan squad will leave for London on Saturday, September 5, giving them ten days to prepare for the six-match white-ball assignment.

ODI squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Kusal Mendis (captain), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Sachindu Colombage, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka.

T20 squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara, Kusal Mendis (captain), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara and Binura Fernando.

Sports

Sampath, bowlers steer Golden Green Plantations to title

Published

15 hours ago

2026/09/3

Sahan Weerasooriya

MCA Premier League Champions 2026 Golden Green Plantations

MCA – ABANS PREMIER LEAGUE 2026

A skipper’s innings of 70 runs off 89 balls by T M Sampath and a four fer by Hesham Madushanaka and two wickets by Upul Hettiarachchi helped new comers to the MCA cricket arena Golden Green Plantations defeat David Pieris Group of Companies by four wickets in the final of the MCA-Abans Premier League 2026 and become the first winners of the ‘Abans Challenge Trophy’.

Electing to bat first David Pieris Group of Companies were restricted to 147 runs in 39.3 overs. Santhush Gunathilake who opened innings topped the score card with a fluent 53 off 50 balls with seven fours and a six. Asitha Wanninayake chipped in with 31 off 59 balls. Heshan Madushanka captured four wickets for 11 runs.

Chasing 148 to win, skipper T M Sampath scored 70 runs off 89 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes before being stumped off the bowling of Dilanka Auwardt, with score on 122/5. Shammu Ashan and Mohamed Shamaz shared a 25 run partnership to equal the scores at 147/6 and Shammu Ashan scored the winning runs with a four.

The Golden Green Plantation Team led by T M Samapth comprised, Heshn Madushanka, Malith Mihiranga, Mohamed Shamaz, Randika Mihiranga, Upul Httiarachchi, Dhanuja Induwara, Gimadu Malkam, Sammu Ashan , Vikum Sanjaya and Johan Pathirana

With only four teams entering the prestigious MCA Premier Leaguethis year, DFCC Bank secured third spot having a slightly better run rate over Nawaloka Hospitals and were unlucky that the opportunity for securing a spot in the final was washed away as qualifier 2 was abandoned on two consuecutive days due to rain.

Player of the Final T M Sampath of Golden Green Plantations receives his trophy from Sajith Athapaththu Chairman of the MCA Social, Bar and Restaurant Committee

Special Awards:

Best fielder of the Final :

Dhanuja Induwara of Golden Green Plantations [3 catches and 1 runout]

Best bowler of the Final:

Heshan Madushanka of Golden Green Plantations [4 wickets for 11 runs]

Best batsman of the Final:

Santhush Gunathilake of David Pieris Group of Companies [53 runs off 50 balls]

Player of the Final ;

T M Sampath of Golden Green Plantations [70 runs and 1 wicket]

Best bowler of the Tournament:

Tharinda Nirmal of David Pieris Group of Companies [13 wickets in 4 innings]

Best batsman of the Tournament: