Suresh Ranjan Dharmasena (born 24 June 1989), also known as DSR Dharmasena, is a Sri Lankan wheelchair tennis player. He became a Paralympic competitor after sustaining injuries in the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He made his first Paralympic appearance representing Sri Lanka at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.

Biography

He was raised in Kahatagasdigiliya in the

Anuradhapura District Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''anūrādhapūra distrikkaya''; ta, அனுராதபுரம் மாவட்டம் ''Aṉurātapuram māvaṭṭam'') is a district in North Cent ...

. He pursued primary and secondary education at the Kahatagasdigiliya Central College. He joined Sri Lanka Armoured Corps at the age of 18 in 2007 and served as a lance bombardier (artillery regiment) in the

Sri Lankan Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

. His left foot was severely injured and had to be amputated when he stepped on an anti-personnel mine on 23 February 2009. It was amputated when he was on his duty in the Pottuvil Lagoon and his army career was brought to an end just before the end of the 26 year long civil war. After becoming a victim of

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

terrorist attack, he underwent rehabilitation process at the Ragama Ranaviru Sevana for a period of four months.

Career

Suresh was encouraged to take up the sport of wheelchair tennis by the then Brigadier Shiran Abeysekara in 2010. He claimed the bronze medal along with Lasantha Ranaweera in the men's doubles event at the

2018 Asian Para Games The 2018 Asian Para Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Difabel Asia 2018, ''Asian Para Games 2018''), officially known as the 3rd Asian Para Games and also known as Indonesia 2018, was a pan-Asian multi-sport event that held from 6 to 13 October 2018 ...

. It was the first time Sri Lanka had won a medal in an international wheelchair competition. He won the 2018 Negombo Open ITF Series tournament after defeating Korea's top seed Ha-Gel Lee in straight sets. In May 2021, he won both the men's singles and men's doubles events at the 14th Sri Lanka Open Wheelchair Tennis tournament. He was a key member of the Sri Lankan team which reached the semi-finals of the 2021 BNP Paribas World Team Cup Qualifiers. He received bipartite invitation to take part at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

following his notable performances at the 2021 BNP Paribas World Team Cup Qualification round held in Portugal. During the Tokyo Paralympics, he competed in section four of the first round event in the men's wheelchair tennis competition. On 6 March 2022, he won the men's singles title after defeating Sung-Bong Han in three sets 6–2, 3-6 and 7–5 in the final of the 2022 International Wheelchair tennis tournament which was played at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharmasena, Suresh 1989 births Living people Sri Lankan male tennis players Wheelchair tennis players People from North Central Province, Sri Lanka Paralympic wheelchair tennis players for Sri Lanka Wheelchair tennis players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics