The three-day International Tennis Federation (ITF) organised wheelchair tennis tournament, the Malaysian Open, will get underway today (20) in Kuala Lumpur.

Three Sri Lankans, Upali Rajakaruna, who carries an ITF word rank of 206, and Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Gamini, ranked 240, are expected to perform well in both men’s singles and doubles draws in this tournament. Both these players are from Sri Lanka Army. The third member of the Lankan team, A.B. Alagoda, is from Sri Lanka Navy.

Gamini, who hails from Ampara, is a 22-year-old and he held a career high singles world rank of 151 in Sep., 2008. His highest doubles rank is 102 which he achieved also in Sep. last year. Gamini lost his left leg from below knee during the North-East war and then took to wheelchair tennis in 2004.

He represented Sri Lanka in last July’s British Open held in Nottingham before playing a major role in the country’s successful campaign in the Invacare World Team Cup, the World Cup of wheelchair tennis, also held in Nottingham in July this year. There, Sri Lanka emerged 5th out of 16 participating nations in Group 2.

Rajakaruna, 34, is the most successful campaigner for Sri Lanka. He once held a world singles rank of 68 (Sep., 2008) and a doubles rank of 113 in Jan., 2008. ‘Raja’’s birthplace is Kekirawa and he lost his left leg in an LTTE artillery attack in 1997 at Welioya. He began playing wheelchair tennis following a training progarmme for injured army personnel in 2002.

Unranked Alagoda is fresher in the Lankan team.