It’s another Triple Championship!

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University of Colombo secured the Triple Championship at the Inter University Tennis Tournament, for a second consecutive year, which concluded last weekend. It was a hard earned victory which makes this accomplishment even more rewarding. It’s not something that happened over night and it was not a one man show. This victory is the culmination of months of hard work and working together as a team.

The Men’s Captain and I had the privilege of leading a group of 14 individuals who were exceptional team players. It didn’t take too long for us to get to know eachother (and our most personal stories, at times). That understanding made working together so much easier. We fought for every point from beginning to end. And we couldn’t have played our games without the water and drinks that were provided to us during our breaks, the ice towels that were kept on our neck, arms and legs and the constant moral support given to eachother.

We have always been backed by our super supportive seniors. Their presence at our matches is a good enough example of how strong our ties are within the UOC Tennis family.

A team cannot achieve good results without a coach to guide them on the right path. We had Mr Sylvester Francis by our side, helping us out with our preparation for the tournament. And it didn’t stop there. He was there with us while we were playing our matches, telling us little things that we had to be mindful of. We also got the fullest support from our Instructor-in-charge Ms. Srimalka Gunasekara, the Department of Physical Education and the Amalgamated Club of University of Colombo.

When you play a sport at a competitive level, the cheer plays a key role in your performance. Our friends were there to make sure that we got the best cheer. It kept us going when the game wasn’t going our way. It also prompted us to fight harder and not give up.

In the end, it was hard work, team spirit and sheer commitment that helped us achieve our ultimate goal of winning both the Men’s and Women’s (and inevitably the Overall) Championships. It was no easy win. We had our fair share of ups and downs, yet we overcame all of it, together, as one. And that’s exactly how we will remember this year’s tournament, when we look back on it one day.