Chamil Cooray clinched his 11th national carrom title when he defeated Udesh Chandima 25-8, 23-25 and 25-7 in the men’s singles final worked off at Sri Lanka Carrom Federation’s headquarters in Maharagama on Saturday.
Cooray had earlier beaten Mohamed Shaheed 25-15, 20-25 and 25-0 in the semi final while Chandima booked his place in the final with a 25-21, 25-13 victory over Anas Ahmed.
A product of St. John’s College, Nugegoda, Cooray in an exclusive interview with Ceylon Today said the competition was immense and he had to shift gears accordingly to make sure he won his 11th national title in 12 years.
“This year it was harder than last year and was certainly a lot harder than it was a decade ago, because the young players have been very impressive and very competitive. In both the final and semi final, I won the first set and then lost the second which put me under immense pressure. I am known for my attacking play, but after losing a set I had to play defensively,” Cooray said, and how he changed his strategy according to the situation.
He also said that he was delighted to win what is the most prestigious carrom title in Sri Lanka.
“This is the tournament that everyone wants to win. You earn highest number of ranking points in this tournament, so everyone prepares very well for that. I think Sri Lanka carrom is going on the right track because we have got a bunch of very good players,” he added.
Cooray partnered Madushika Ranawaka to beat Nishantha Fernando and Chalani Lakmali in the mixed doubles finals while teaming up with Brindley Wickramasinghe to win the men’s doubles which saw him emerging as the Triple Crown champion.
Joseph Roshita meanwhile defeated Chalani Lakmali 25-17 and 25-18 to win the women’s singles. Roshita outplayed Detuni Nomaya 25-23 and 25-18 in the semi final.
