Kandy Garden Club
{{Short description|Sports club in Kandy, Sri Lanka}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Kandy Garden Club
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| image = Kandy Garden Club.jpg
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| address = 9 Sangaraja Mawatha
| coordinates = {{Coord|7|17|14|N|80|38|49|E|type:landmark|display=it}}
| pushpin_map = Sri Lanka
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| genre = Sporting and Social Club
| built = 1878
| opened = {{start date and age|1878}}{{cite journal|title=Ferguson's Ceylon Directory|volume=109|publisher=Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited|date=1967|place=Colombo, Sri Lanka|page=1194}}
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| surface = Hardcourt
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| website = {{URL|https://kandygardenclub.com/}}
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The Kandy Garden Club is a social and sports club in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which was established in 1878 for the exclusive use by British coffee planters to play tennis. It is one of the oldest operating sports clubs in the country{{cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/sunday-times-sri-lanka/20130317/282591670383772|title=Illangakone at the helm of KGC|newspaper=The Sunday Times|date=17 March 2013|accessdate=26 March 2020}} and the second oldest in Kandy.{{cite news|url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2001/pix/PrintPage.asp?REF=/2010/04/23/spo11.asp|title=Dilenthi and Naveed overall champions|first=S.M. Jiffrey|last=Abdeen|newspaper=The Daily News|date=23 April 2010|accessdate=26 March 2020}}
History
The club was opened in 1878 for the exclusive use by the British, particularly planters wanting to play tennis.{{cite news|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=198480|title=Kandy Garden Club 140th AGM|newspaper=The Island|date=28 January 2019|first=Cyril|last=Wimalasurendre|accessdate=26 March 2020}}{{cite book |title=Leonard Woolf: A Biography|first=Victoria|last=Glendinning|publisher=Simon and Schuster|date=2006|isbn=9780743246538|page=89}} The nature of the club changed when an elite class of Sri Lankans (then Ceylonese) were permitted to join the club. In 1950 the club was opened to the Sri Lankans. The first Sri Lankan elected as president of the club was Col. S. D. Ratwatte with S. Wijenayake as the secretary.{{when|date=August 2022}}
Features
The club is located at the south-eastern end of Kandy Lake, adjacent to the E. L. Senanayake Children's Park.{{cite book|title=Kandy, Past and Present, 1474-1998 A.D.|author=Karunaratna, Nihal|publisher=Central Cultural Fund, Ministry of Religious and Cultural Affairs|date=1999|isbn=9789556131215|page=188}}{{cite book|title=World Heritage City of Kandy, Sri Lanka: Conservation and Development Plan|author1=Seneviratna, Anuradha|author2=De Silva, Nimal|author3=Saṃskr̥tika, Madhyama Aramudala|publisher=Central Cultural Fund|date=1999|isbn=9789556131260|page=1}} It has four floodlit hardcourts.{{cite book|title=The new international tennis guide: a guide to some of the most exciting tennis resorts in the world|author=Van Daalen, Nicholas|publisher=Pagurian Press|date=1976|isbn=9780889320338|page=188}} Other facilities include Billiards, Snooker, Table Tennis and Bridge. One of the club's billiard tables dates back to 1913, the table was manufactured by John W. Roberts and Company, and has been preserved in its original condition.{{cite web|url=http://kitsports.com/?p=2984|title=Snooker at historic Kandy Club|date=9 August 2015|publisher=Kit Sports|accessdate=26 March 2020}}
Billiards champions Paul Mifsudy, Norman Dangley, were among others invited to play exhibition matches at the Club table. In 1989 the second match of the first snooker test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was played at the club.{{cite news|url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2013/01/24/spo07.asp|title=U.W.Sumathipala gave his life for Billiards and Snooker|first=Hafiz|last=Marikar|newspaper=The Daily News|date=24 January 2013|accessdate=26 March 2020}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://kandygardenclub.com/ Kandy Garden Club website]
{{Kandy landmarks|state=collapsed}}
Category:1878 establishments in Ceylon
Category:Tennis venues in Sri Lanka
Category:Organizations established in 1878