The Sri Lankan Wheelchair Tennis trio Upali Rajakaruna, Gamini Dissanayaka and Suresh Ranaweera, currently in Japan for the ITF BNP Paribas World Team Cup 2016, registered historic wins against Switzerland and Poland.
The BNP Paribas World Team Cup 2016 got underway on the 23rd of May 2016 with an active participation of 24 nations and will conclude on the 28th. One of the key tournaments in the ITF Wheelchair series, it features the top nations around the world competing to be the best in the world.
Sri Lanka came out on top against tough, top-seeded players from both Switzerland and Poland. The Swiss and Polish teams consisted of players who were ranked in the top 100 in the world rankings but the Lankan trio was able to outwit the two European teams with ease.
Starting their campaign in Tokyo, the Sri Lankan team fell short to a vicious Thailand team who registered a comfortable 3-0 win. Sri Lanka collapsed in the 2nd Single and in the Doubles but Gamini Dissanayaka playing the 1st Single went down fighting against Thailand’s Wittaya Pem Mee with scores reading 6-4, 4-6 & 6-2.
Staging a comeback, Sri Lanka won the Poland tie 2-1 to keep their title hopes alive. Gamini Dissanayake won the first single for the country and later teamed up with Upali Rajakaruna to win the Doubles game. Sri Lanka continued their winning spree and whitewashed the Switzerland team 3-0. Dissanayaka & Rajakaruna won the 1st and 2nd Singles while Dissanayaka teamed up with Lasantha Ranaweera to win the Doubles.
It was a milestone accomplishment for Sri Lanka as they will face yet another competitive tie ahead of them. The final tie in the group game will be against Hungary and will be played later in the day in Japan. Despite their loss to Thailand, Sri Lanka has performed exceptionally well.
The two wins have allowed the Lankan players to climb up the world rankings. Upali Rajakaruna has climbed a spot higher and now claims rights to the 137th spot. He is the highest ranked Sri Lankan in the list while Gamini Dissanayaka jumped two places up to 164. Gaining the most is Suresh Ranaweera who climbs five places higher to 179.
Sri Lanka will later travel to Korea to participate in the ITF Series 1 Korean Open followed by the Daegu Open which is also an ITF Series 1 championship. The team is coached by Jagath Welikala.
