Members of the cash-strapped Sri Lankan table tennis squad are elated that they are able to participate in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship, which began here today, after nearly a decade.
Last time they played in this event was in 2004 in Kuala Lumpur and since they are not given monetary support, the team's participation at the international events has suffered.
The Islanders have faced difficulty in managing funds to foot their foreign travel and have come here to participate by salvaging from individual contributions.
The nine-member squad may be down on financial front but their spirits are flying high coming into a competition.
"We hardly get opportunities to play in international competitions. The exposure our players get here is invaluable," said team's coach-cum-manager Jagath Rajapaksa while explaining the importance of commonwealth championships for his country.
"We do not get enough funds for participation in international tournaments. It's is very difficult to find sponsors for an indoor game. We don't any professional TT player in our country," Rajapaksa told PTI.
The paddlers are lead by national top seed Rohan Sirisena who was part of the Lankan squad that won silver in the fifth division of the World Championships in Dortmund last year, their biggest achievement so far.
Another feat for the paddlers is finishing second in the women's team event of the SAFF (South Asian Games) in 2006.
"We were unlucky that day. We lost to India in a close match. We could have clinched gold," he recalled.
The Lankan squad comprises of four men and in the women's event, there are five schoolgirls.
"Four out of the five girls are studying in school. Despite lack of funds, these players want to pursue the sport which is encouraging for me," said the Lankan national coach.
Rajapaksa, who has 20-years coaching experience in France, runs an academy for in Kandy which he says will nurture emerging talents and make the country more competitive at international level.
