Young and aspiring shuttler Dilmi Dias stole the show at the combined 67th Badminton Nationals and 37th Junior Nationals, winning a triple crown while ace shuttler Niluka Karunaratne and Lochana de Silva claimed a double each to end the six-day competition on a high note at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo last weekend. Emerging [...]
Dilmi Dias steals spotlight with three titles at Badminton Nationals
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Niluka Karunaratne won the Men's title for 16th time
Young and aspiring shuttler Dilmi Dias stole the show at the combined 67th Badminton Nationals and 37th Junior Nationals, winning a triple crown while ace shuttler Niluka Karunaratne and Lochana de Silva claimed a double each to end the six-day competition on a high note at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo last weekend.
Emerging star shuttler, Dias, won the important titles of Women’s Singles from the 67th Nationals and claimed the Girls Under-19 Singles and Girls Under-19 Doubles titles partnering Anurangi Maskorale. She beat hot favourite Achini Ratnasiri 2-1 in the Women’s Singles final after easily winning her other two titles in the Girls Under-19 category.
Niluka Karunaratne overcame Ranthushka Karunathilaka 2-0 in the Men’s Singles final, after partnering with his brother Dinuka to claim the Men’s Doubles title, beating Lochana de Silva and Thulith Palliyaguru.
Lochana de Silva, who appeared in three finals, emerged victorious in two. He was able to claim the titles of Boys Under-19 Singles and Boys Under-19 Doubles with his Men’s Doubles partner, Palliyaguru.
Karunathilaka, who lost the Men’s Singles final, earlier won the Boys Singles Under-23 title, beating Madhuka Dulanjana 2-1. Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Weerasinghe paired up to beat Tisuni Midara and Senuji Umagiliyage in the Women’s Doubles final.
Dilmi Dias had reason to rejoice with a triple crown - Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
Sachin Dias paired up with the veteran Chandrika de Silva to beat Hasitha Chanaka and Upuli Weerasinghe 2-1 to claim the Mixed Doubles title. Ranthushka Karunathilaka, who lost to Niluka in the main event final, went on to bag the Boys Singles Under-23 title beating Madhuka Dulanjana 2-1 after a close battle. In the Veterans segment, Rohan Fernando, Louie Karunaratne, Subash Janaka, Sunil Jayasiri and Rohan de Silva, impressed by appearing in two finals each. Rohan Fernando, Louie Karuanratne, Subash Janaka and Sunil Jayasiri won a double each. Sri Lanka Badminton president, Rohan de Silva claimed the Men’s Doubles Over-65 title, partnering Jayasiri, while losing to his doubles partner in the Men’s Singles Over-65.
The 67th National Championships and the 37 Junior Nationals for 2020 was held from January 13 to 18 with Rs. One Million cash bonanza up for grabs in the Senior category. The Junior category was also filled with a host of prizes on top of trophies and medals for all winners. This national championship was slated for November 2019 but had to be pushed back because of the Presidential elections.
Hundreds of top shuttlers from across the country competed at the six-day competition that was played to international standards with 10 synthetic courts used for the first time in a local tournament. Organised by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) in partnership with the Sri Lanka Schools Badminton Association (SLSBA), the Nationals attracted the cream of Sri Lanka’s top players in both the Senior and Junior categories.
The shuttlers competed in 24 event classes in the Senior Category, while the Junior Nationals was held under 18 different age class events. Apart from the Open titles, Under-23, Over-35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70 in Men’s and Women’s Singles as well as in the Over-40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70 Men’s and Women’s Doubles events were held.
