Ananda College tennis reigns at Cool Tennis 2017

Ananda College emerged winners of the Under-7 (Red Ball), Under-8 (Orange Ball) and Under-10 (Green Ball) age group categories at the recently concluded ‘Cool Tennis’ 2017 competition. 

In the Under-7 Red Ball category Ananda College beat St. Peter’s College (3-0) in the quarterfinal. This was followed by a victory against Royal College (3-2) in the semifinals before Ananda College beat Maliyadewa College (3-0) in the finals and emerged champions. The young Anandians proved to be the best in that age category with only on loss from three matches in the entire tournament.

The Orange Ball team entered the tournament as the favorites for the title. In the Under-8 Orange Ball category, Ananda College beat Maliyadewa College (3-0) in the semifinals and marched on to victory against Kalutara Vidyalaya (3-1) to emerge champions of the category. Ananda College has won the Orange Ball category six times in the eight-year-long history of the competition.

In the Boys’ Under-10 Green Ball category, Ananda College beat St. Joseph’s College, Negombo (3-0) in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Ananda College beat S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia (3-2) to emerge champions of the category after beating Royal College (3-1) in the finals. 

The Ananda College Under-10 Green Ball team emerged victorious against S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and Royal College during the semifinal and finals respectively, during both the regional qualifying events and the ‘A’ Division tournament.

In addition, the Ananda College ‘B’ teams went on to win the Under-10 Green Ball championship, Under-8 Orange Ball championship and emerged Under-7 Red Ball runners-up and Under-7 Red Ball 2nd runners-up, showing depth in their lineup.

Ananda College has been dominant in the junior tennis arena for the past eight years and continues to see victories against leading tennis playing schools in Sri Lanka. The undying efforts of the Principal and school’s management, the expertise of the coaching staff, the commitment and dedication of the young boys and the cooperation of the parents have lifted Ananda College’s tennis to great heights. 

Close supervision and guidance to the teams are provided by the Teacher-in-Charge Manori Alahakoon and the team is under the training of Head Coach Anupa Maththamagoda, who is assisted by a team of qualified coaches in Tharindu Perera and Priyankara Amarasinghe as well as assistant coaches Geeth Kaushalya and Prabath Perera. Their expertise in the sport has definitely paved the way for Ananda College’s tennis to flourish over the years. 

Commenting on the victory, Principal S.M. Keerthirathne said: “I am very proud of this achievement gained by our youngsters. I believe that these youngsters are going to be the foundation of our success in the coming years and I would like to congratulate the teams, Teacher-in-Charge and Head Coach for the determination and persistence shown in achieving this remarkable feat of winning all three categories and becoming the overall champions.”

“Ananda College has shown a tremendous improvement in tennis and has now achieved a leading position in junior tennis. We are determined to continue this success and make Ananda College shine in the field of tennis,” added Teacher-in-charge Manori Alahakoon.

“The task of triumphing in all three categories of the tournament was not easy. But the dedication of the players and the support received from the Principal, Teacher-in-Charge and parents made this dream come true. My supporting team extended tremendous assistance to achieve this goal, said Anupa, who is the Head Coach, and is in fact the captain of the Ananda team which was victorious in 1992 and 1993.