Sanuth Jayasumana is coached by Lalith Perera, former Sri Lanka National TT player and 2004, 2005 and 2006 over 40 Sri Lanka veteran TT champion.

In only her fifth Fed Cup appearance, world number four Sharapova won both singles matches, beating 11th-ranked Karolina Pliskova in straight sets on Saturday and sixth-ranked Petra Kvitova in a three-set thriller on Sunday.

“Personally it’s an incredible achievement for me because I’ve never been in a Fed Cup final and I won two of my matches,” Sharapova said.

After winning five Grand Slam titles, Sharapova is still seeking two other global trophies — the Fed Cup and Olympic gold.

Next year, she will be in contention for the Olympic title, after winning bronze in London 2012 — representing Russia despite having lived in Florida since age seven.

“There’s no better feeling than being out on the court having so many people fly here from Russia to support you,” Sharapova beamed on Sunday as the Fed Cup final was under way.

“In an event like this you’re just not playing for yourself, you’re playing for your teammates, for your country.

“It’s a very unique feeling and it’s so special.”

Yet questions over her team spirit continue to follow her.

She has played only five Fed Cup ties since earning professional status in April 2001, two of which were this year.

A decade ago, she was involved in a rift with her teammate and now Russia captain Anastasia Myskina, who threatened to boycott the Fed Cup if Sharapova was selected for the Russian team, complaining about her father’s behaviour in the stands.

Myskina, the 2004 French Open champion, also slammed Sharapova for being “more American than Russian,” accusing her of speaking Russian “with a coarse accent.”

Former fellow Russian player Elena Dementieva once said that Sharapova “grew up in America and trains there, so we don’t have anything in common.”

This week, Myskina waved the spat aside, saying she was happy to have Sharapova on the team.

“Definitely it’s very important to have Maria on the team and I want to say thank you,” Myskina said.

But after the Fed Cup final, she declined to comment on Sharapova’s presence on the team.

“We lost. That’s the end of the story,” she said.

Adding fuel to the fire, Czech media said Sharapova had shunned the rest of the team and stayed in a different Prague hotel to the others.

AFP

Not being in the best medical condition hasn’t deterred table tennis player Dinesh Deshappriya. In fact he looks forward to being ill and if he maintains this rather gloomy medical condition of his, Dinesh can represent Sri Lanka at the upcoming Thailand Para Open tournament, scheduled to be held from July 23-28.

Dinesh is a Hemophilia patient who is constantly battling joint inflammation due to this annoying medical condition. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder which slows down the blood clotting process. As with Dinesh and other such patients, this condition prolongs bleeding following an injury and at times inflames joints because of unnecessary blood flow to joints. They run the risk of bleeding to death, but advancements in medical science have produced drugs which keep this condition in check.

Dinesh told The Nation that he takes medication from the National Heamatology Unit and is educated enough on this medical condition that he is able to take his own injections. The injections he takes causes no side effects and the most positive thing about the medication is that the drugs used don’t cause problems during dope testing.

Dinesh is already an international player having represented Sri Lanka at many international tournaments in the able category. He had his first experience playing in the Gisabled Games when he won a silver medal at the Asia Para Games in Korea last year. Much of Dinesh’s time every day goes to attending to his medical needs.

“I don’t practice much. Often I save the energies to play in the tournament. My prime focus is to take my injections and keep this condition under check. I can only play with peace of mind if I am medically fit. Physical fitness has only a small role to play in my condition,” explained the 30-year-old sportsman.

Dinesh competes in ‘class 10’ at the Para Games. That’s a class where players have a slight impediment, but are able to stand and play. The authorities have three categories for Para Games; 1-5 is represented by those on wheelchair, 6-10 who have impediments but can stand and class 11 is represented by those who are mentally disturbed. All players, despite the medical records they bring from their personal doctors, are subject to checking before a Para Games event.

“This is because the disabled condition can change. I am now in class 10 and right now effected by Osteoarthritis. If my condition worsens, I will have to switch to another category,” said Dinesh who is ranked 13th in the world and 3rd in Asia in the Para Games table tennis event.

He has to play in five Para Games events to qualify for the 2016 Para Olympics in Rio. He said that the Thailand Para Open is his first attempt and that he was in search of sponsors to make it to all these tournaments. The criterion for qualification to book his ticket to Rio is to work up to a 210 world ranking in Para Games table tennis.

As a table tennis player he browses the internet a good deal in search of information on Para Games and his medical condition. In fact it was during one of his net searches that he unearthed the fact that there was a Para Games before he decided to try his luck.

He also plays in the able category and is ranked 4th among the Sri Lankan male players in the singles event.

“I believe I am the only Sri Lankan player to represent the country at both able and disabled games in any sport,” he said.

Dinesh’s last assignment with the national able team was when they contested the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. He is at present a professional table tennis player and represents the Sri Lanka Navy at domestic tournaments.

He said he prefers to contest the Para Games adding: ‘I can do something big in this category.’

Dinesh takes this opportunity to thank Navy Table Tennis Chairman CMDE DLMN Dissanayake, Navy Table Tennis Secretary CDR WMA Bowatte and National Paralympic Committee, Haematology Unit Consultants Dr. Mala Tudawe, Dr. Bhaddika Jayaratne and Dr. Visaka Rathnamalala for the support extended to him to pursue his sports career.

Results:

Under – 15 Girls: Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy (Champs), Hillwood College, Kandy (Runners-up), Girls High Schools, Kandy (3rd)

Under 15 Boys: Vidyartha College, Kandy (Champs), Kingswood College (Runners-up), Trinity College, Kandy (3rd)

Under 19 Girls: Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy, (Champs), Girls High School, Kandy, (Runners-up), Hillwood College, Kandy (3rd)

Under 19 Boys: Vidyaratha College, Kandy, (Champs), Dharmaraja College, Kandy, (Runners-up), Trinity College, Kandy (3rd)

All these schools have qualified to compete in the All-Island Tournament to be held in Colombo later this year.

– See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=sports/mahamaya-win-girls-under-15-and-19-table-tennis-titles#sthash.RBYYi9iw.dpuf