Thilina Piyadasa, the 42 year old former table tennis player based in the USA with his family is still very keen follower of the sport .He married former National champion Rifkha Kameel a product of Pushpadana Balika MV Kandy and both of them have two daughters, 11 year old Tashiya and eight year old Tiana.
“We never pushed our daughters to play TT but they were keen to see us training as well as in matches from their childhood. Today both of them our following in our footsteps to come forward in this sport,” said Piyadasa.
“When I was at Vidyartha College Kandy my mother always encouraged me to involve in sports and my memories go to my childhood and never forget my coach Mahinda Ellepola the renowned TT coach. I think when the players get good guidance from a well qualified coach definitely the player can go a long journey with developing skill.
“My determination was very high and dedication to the game always pushed me forward. As a result I have taken the National championship title for eight years and that is the highest TT National titles won by a men’s paddler up to date.
“Chamara Dushmantha, Indika Prasad, Rohan Sirisena,Yohan Deshapriya and KST Chalitha were the key paddlers with me those days and we had a very busy sports schedule. The South Asian Games, Asian TT Championship, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gave me the chance to represent the country while we had very good memories touring Germany organized by the Asian German Sports Exchange Program (AGSEP) in 1999. International exposure is always useful and I had that opportunity to get more results.
“However when I moved to the USA I was lucky to get some fine training with good guidance and I also realized the difference between USA and Sri Lanka TT. In the USA we have good facilities and my daughters are lucky to get that with modern coaching systems.
“I also started my services as a coach while former National champion and another product of Vidyartha, Udaya Ranasinghe is also with me coaching. My two daughters are playing for the California TT Club. The club owner is former Chinese Olympic silver medallist Gao Jun who later moved to the USA. She was ranked number one in the US prior to the 2012 London Olympics but pulled out due to an injury. She is the present coach of my daughter Tashiya and her guidance is very important for them .
Recently my eldest daughter Tashiya clinched the USA under 11 title at the National championship held in Las Vegas .Before she won this major title she was lucky to be number one at under 11 age group while number 4 at the under 13 age group at the USA team trials .I can see my youngest daughter Tiana also following her elder sister to go forward in this sport,” added Piyadasa.