Sri Lanka’s men’s and women’s teams began their campaigns with impressive victories at the 28th ITTF–ATTU Asian Table Tennis Team Championship, currently underway in Bhubaneswar, India.
However, both teams faced tough losses in their second group matches as they continue their quest to improve international rankings.
In their opening group fixtures, Sri Lanka’s men defeated Kyrgyzstan 3–1, while the women swept past Mongolia 3–0, marking a strong start in one of Asia’s most competitive table tennis events.
The men’s team, ranked 15th in Asia, bounced back from an early loss by Nimesh Ranchagoda, with skipper Chameera Ginige levelling the match after a hard-fought win over Moldaliev Tilek. Chanul Dulsen secured the second win, overcoming Sagyndykov Azamat in a five-set thriller, before Ginige returned to seal the tie with a 3–1 win against Ergeshov Azamat.
On the women’s side, ranked 16th in Asia, Thamadi Kavindya, Bimandee Bandara, and Lesanya Sethumdee each won their singles matches to give Sri Lanka a convincing 3–0 win over Mongolia.
However, the momentum slowed on day two. Facing far stronger opponents in their second group matches, Sri Lanka’s men lost 0–3 to seventh-ranked Kazakhstan, with Ginige, Ranchagoda, and Shafiullah Akram all falling in straight sets.
The women’s team met a similar fate against seventh-ranked Thailand, also going down 0–3. Kavindya and Sethumdee lost in straight sets, while skipper Bandara put up a spirited performance before losing 1–3.
The championship features 22 countries in the men’s event and 20 in the women’s, with China and Japan holding the top seedings in both categories.
Despite the second-round defeats, both Sri Lankan teams remain in contention and are aiming to climb higher in the Asian rankings as the competition progresses.
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