Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo Open Tennis Championship 2014 award ceremony

Friday, 20 June 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

After several electrifying matches, the annual Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo – Open Tennis Championship came to a close on 7 June. The tournament, which kicked off on 21 May, is featured on the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) yearly calendar of events to note and is presently in its third instalment. This year saw 350 participants signing up for a chance at winning the prestigious trophy and despite minor interruptions from bad weather, the tournament was a resounding success.

The award ceremony for the tournament was held on 19 June at 8° on the Lake, in the presence of the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo management, esteemed sponsors and the tournament winners and families. Speaking at the event, General Manager of Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, Denis Gruhier said: “I would like to congratulate the winners and runners-up! After watching the excellent performance put on by players on the tennis courts, seniors and juniors, I firmly believe tournaments like this are very important for the continuing success of our players. I commend Issak Bin Iqbal, President of the Sri Lanka Tennis Association and the SLTA for its job of tirelessly promoting tennis, not just in Colombo, but around the island. The efforts by them to encourage the sport among the youth and help to build courts around the island is much-admired.” “As the hosts of the only tennis tournament to be successfully conducted by a 5 star hotel, we at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo are proud of the work that has gone into making the Open Tennis Championship the success that it is. I applaud the services of Manoj Kapukotuwa and his team at the Health & Fitness Centre who are dedicated to maintaining the tournaments high standards. I would also like to say a special thank you to our generous sponsors, Anirvan Gosh, Suriya Bibile and Romesh David, who gave their support to make this year’s tournament a memorable one.” The event was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, with the core sponsor being Third Generation Sports who provided all the tennis balls that will be used during the tournament and tennis equipment as gifts for winners. Cinnamon Air, the country’s premier domestic airline, joined this year as prize sponsors. The winners and runners up of each category collected their coveted trophies along with cash prizes, and received vouchers and gift bags from Cinnamon Air and MAS Active during the ceremony. Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo – Health and Fitness Centre Manager Manoj Kapukotuwa stated during the ceremony: “The Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo – Open Tennis Championship is an annual event, and one that attracts increasing interest in the sporting world. This is because of the spirit in which the game is played, for which we thank all our participants for setting an example to live by. You have demonstrated sportsmanship and showed us that there are no losers in this tournament. We applaud you on your exceptional performance this year.” The tournament is sanctioned by the SLTA and was conducted in accordance with the codes of conduct of the SLTA. Dharaka Ellawala was the SLTA appointed referee whilst the Tournament Director appointed from the hotel was N.S. Jayashantha who has successfully spearheaded the project each time. The acting court curator was S.P. Sumith. Winners list Men’s Open Singles – Winner: Sankha Athukorala; Runners up: Nishangan Nadarajah Women’s Open Singles – Winner: Thewuni Devaraja; Runners up: Nilushi Fernando Men’s Open Doubles – Winner: Sankha Athukorala and Delwar Hossain; Runners up: TanveerAshiq and D. Thagarajah Boys Under 16 Singles – Winner: Aadavan Pushparaj; Runners up: AvindraPerera Girls Under 16 Singles – Winner: Rukshana Abdeen; Runners up: Oshani Wickramasinghe Boys under 14 Singles – Winner: Vibuda Wijebandara; Runners up: Yasith Rathnayaka Girls Under 14 Singles – Winner: Janali Manamperi; Runners up: Anika Seneviratne Girls Under 14 Doubles – Winner: Tarah Greig and Janali Manamperi; Runners up: Prabuddhi Perera and Anika Seneviratne Boys under 14 Doubles – Winner: Innthujan Selvarathnarajah and Mark Senevirathna; Runners up: Nuwantha Dissanayaka and VibudaWijebandara Boys Under 10 Singles – Winner: Akith Senarathna; Runners up: Apna Perera Girls Under 10 Singles – Winner: Anjalika Kurera; Runners up: Tharani Alexander Girls Under 12 Singles – Winner Anika Seneviratne; Runners up: Neyara Weerawansa Veterans over 40 – Winner: Ganendra Subramanium Veterans over 40 Doubles – Winner: Upul Priyantha/K.A. Sudharshan