by Ravi Nagahawatte
Sri Lanka’s table tennis players face a problem of not having the opportunity of playing with internationally recognised ping pong balls, Sarath Guneratne, director of the SAF Games national table tennis pool, said at a media briefing held at the Health Ministry Auditorium on Monday.

Guneratne said that the country’s players are at present practising with balls which are two millimetres less in circumference compared to balls used in international competitions.

The media co-ordinator for local and international affairs, Lalith Priyantha, when contacted, said "The TTASL is making arrangements to bring down table tennis balls of international standards. We will get qotations from the leading table tennis equipment manufacturers of the world. Our players will soon get these balls".

He said the size of the balls were changed after the year 2001 World Championships, in Osaka Japan.

The former national champion also said that this move to use bigger table tennis balls at international competitons is a move to give the spectators and media a clear view of what’s happening during a match.

"This is a move to make table tennis a speactator sport", said Priya-ntha.