Niluka’s plight bothers new Sports Minister

Leading badminton player Niluka Karunaratne has been banned from the sport for one year by the Sri Lanka Badminton Federation, allegedly for attacking another player in an open tournament held in Anuradhapura. Sports Minister Aluthgamage said that he plans to probe into the matter and see that justice is done to this leading shuttler.

Niluka Karunaratne

“I am waiting until Niluka make an appeal and I will see as to what could be done at this end,” said Aluthgamage to the Sunday Times. Besides this, Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage will act according to an advisory committee on monetary affairs. The reason for this is on earlier occasions there have been allegations of wrong doing whilst handling monetary dealings. Due to this fact Aluthgamage has decided to have this advisory committee who will advise the minister on how to spend monies that has been allocated to various sports bodies and their other monetary dealings.

Since the Ten Sports TV deal comes to an end on December 31, 2010, the Sports Minister will seek the advice of the advisory committee and a technical committee. Originally this deal was initiated by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Depending on the advice he gets from these bodies, the minister will decide whether the Sports Ministry should attend to this matter or let the SLC to conduct it under the scrutiny of the Ministry.

The Minister said he has no intention of interfering into SLC affairs until the Cricket World Cup 2011 is over. He said decision to stage the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Hambantota will be made next year. “This task takes top priority,” said the Minister

He plans to have discussions with various sports federations to change the existing Sports Law and allow federations to conduct their Annual General Meetings (AGM) once in two years. He is of the opinion that this will give the federations a little more time to conduct their affairs in a fitting manner.

He also plans to nominate liaison officers from the Sports Ministry to see that these federations conduct their affairs fairly. These officers will report to the Sports Ministry at regular intervals.

One of his aims is to see that sports officials cut down on their foreign jaunts and these funds are to be allocated to train and groom athletes.

As a parting shot the Sports Minister said that the Sports Ministry is not a den of thieves, but there are officers who are lethargic. “There are several hardworking, honest individuals in the Sports Ministry. I plan to get them and the others, to work towards making the Sports Ministry a better and fruitful place.”
He also said that when he referred to the cutting down of officials he was speaking about the Asian Beach Sports Festival held in Muscat, Oman recently.

The NOC had presented seven officials to officiate at the Beach Sports Festival and he had cut them down to three as he did not like so many officials going on tour and taxing Sports Ministry funds.

(www.sundaytimes.lk)

Controversy surrounds badminton tour

By T.B. Rahaman

The Sri Lanka Badminton Association in coordination with the Schools Badminton Association is planning to send a large number of junior players to participate in the Li Ning Youth Badminton Championship to be held in Singapore from December 13 to 19.

The Championship sponsored by Li Ning will feature events in five age groups of under-11, 13, 15, 17 and 19.

Sri Lanka will send juniors for three age groups of under-15, 17 and 19. The two lower age groups have been omitted by the Education Ministry.

According to the president of the Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) Roshan Gunawardana, the Education Ministry refused to include the lower age groups as they were not allowed to represent the country at that age.

Gunawardena told Daily Mirror that the players were picked by the selection committee of the Schools Badminton Association and the four officials who will accompany the players are also from the Schools Association.

Twenty countries are sending their players to represent their respective countries at this prestigious championship.

However, the letter (dated 20 Nov. 2010) sent to the principals of the schools seeking the release of players for the championship was sent on letter heads of the SLBA and signed by the president Roshan Gunawardana.

The letter states that the concerned child has been selected to represent the country at the Li Ning Junior Badminton Championship and that the principal’s permission was needed to take the player to Singapore.

Gunawardana also said that the government was not giving money to take the children for this tournament and that each child should find their own funds.

Entries for this tournament closed on November 15, 2010 in Singapore.

Parents complained that they were asked to deposit the money to a bank account that they do not know to whom it belongs. The amount being collected from each player is Rs. 95,000/= and more than 40 players have been selected.

When Roshan Gunawardana became the president of the SLBA he embarked on a venture to take the game to the village. Now he is working overtime to send players for foreign tournaments. Is this a way to entice the players to take to the game and reach a high standard soon? One parent who contacted the Daily Mirror asked.

Two years ago another controversial tour like this to Singapore where a lot of school children paid and took part ended in disaster when the parents complained that the children were put up at hotels which also doubled up as brothels.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

Those punished in sport must have avenues to comeback

COMMENT

by Ravi Nagahawatte

The Sri Lanka Badminton Federation (SLBF) must be commended for taking stern disciplinary action against Sri Lanka’s number one male badminton player Niluka Karunaratne for misbehaving at the recently held Badminton Tournament in Kurunegala.

Top sportsmen and women are hard to control, given that the energies within are always trying to bubble to the surface. They always look for avenues to discharge these energies. Most expel their energies within the boundaries of sport. For some individuals who don’t value discipline, these energies, which can cause an ‘explosion’ within, can really land you in trouble.

Karunaratne (the eldest of three badminton playing brothers), is reported to have taunted a senior female player who was playing on another court and then allegedly assaulted the female player’s brother, who had come to his sibling’s aid.

This incident has to be viewed from many aspects because this act of shame also gives us the opportunity to learn a few lessons.

Remember, Niluka is not a novice and taunting a competitor amounts to bringing the game into disrepute. He was also a competitor at the same tournament and it was unjust to mentally torment a player, for whatever reasons.

In cricket, where sledging was once at its best, players are now meek as lambs. Cricketers don’t sledge anymore because the ICC players’ code specifies that they adopt a zero tolerance when it comes to verbally abusing players.

Badminton rules too are strict and it’s an offence if a player clinches his or her fist and aims it at the opponent in a threatening manner when celebrating a point. What the authorities couldn’t check for some time was the indiscipline in badminton players and the present set of badminton administrators have shown in no uncertain terms that those who don’t behave have no place in the sport.

The second point to ponder on this issue is why such a senior player in Niluka can’t maintain cordial relationship with other players. Niluka and the female player we are referring to, Chandrika de Silva, have time and again been part of the same contingent which represented Sri Lanka at international competitions.

It’s shocking that there is no camaraderie among these senior players. What is the example senior players like Niluka will set for the horde of junior players who were watching this incident?

The initial harsh punishment of suspending the offender is good given the fact that the authorities also have a backup plan to ‘rehab’ this player. It’s not very correct for the badminton authorities to suspend a player and then forget him.

In rugby we have a method where players who serve bans for abusing referees are taken into officiating at matches. This allows the player suspended to see what he did wrong from the perspective of a referee. Many rugby players have cherished this system and have made comebacks as players.

A renowned fitness trainer in the country once told this writer that some uppity players in the badminton scene were not bad after all. He said that if players are approached tactfully and with respect they’d be very easy to control. He showed me how it’s done. It was amazing to see the little methods he used, whether it was to drive in a point or get their cooperation. He used very kind words and made the players look important. The players were soon ‘eating off his hand’.

You need to maintain discipline, but at the same time you have to know not to destroy the self-respect within the players when punishment is handed out. There is no sport without players and players need to have a system of being able to comeback after finishing their course of punishment.

The badminton fraternity sincerely hopes Niluka will not continue to be a victim of brash sports administration. Niluka will be ‘clean’ after serving his punishment and should be allowed to return to the sport for which he has sacrificed so much. There is an old saying, ‘there are so many ways to skin a cat’.

At this juncture it would be terrible if Niluka is not punished. It would be worse if the player goes into a shell and fades away. The SLBF has created a new problem by solving an existing problem.

Now they have to see to the ‘bringing up of Niluka’ from a sports administrator’s point of view. This is an era where even former terrorists are pardoned given the best of perks. The badminton fraternity is watching!

(www.island.lk)

National Champion Niluka Karunaratne suspended

Went into a tantrum claims Chandrika Silva…

By T.B. Rahaman

Sri Lanka’s top badminton player Niluka Karunaratne has been suspended by the Badminton Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) on alleged misbehaviour at a tournament held in Anuradhapura recently.

President of the BASL Roshan Gunawardana told ‘Daily Mirror’ that according to reports submitted by the match referee and the umpire concerned Karunaratne is alleged to have conducted himself in an unbecoming manner and was found to be the guilty party.

The trouble had cropped up during a mixed doubles semi-final match between Dinuka Karunaratne (Niluka’s brother) and his partner and Chandrika de Silva and her partner.

The match had gone into a third set with the first two being shared. During the third set, it was Chandrika de Silva and her partner who were leading on 20/17 when Niluka Karunaratne who was also playing in the adjoining court had finished his match hurriedly and gone near the court where his brother Dinuka was playing. Thereafter Niluka had begun to cheer in a loud voice standing just beside the court.

Chandrika de Silva told ‘Daily Mirror’ that Niluka was shouting at the top of his voice and was casting remarks at her (Chandrika). Thereafter, his brother Dinuka and partner went on to win the match 23/21.

“Soon after the match was over and even before we could shake hands with the opponents or even before the umpires could get off the chairs Niluka was inside the court shouting, hooting and used bad language on me,” added Chandrika.

“After that I asked him why he was saying bad thinks about me, and my younger brother heard him using bad language on me. When my brother confronted Niluka to calm him down, he and his two brothers began attacking my brother and my elder brothers too were forced to get involved,” said Chandrika.

As the tournament was continued the next day and as Niluka Karunaratne is employed at the Air Force, the Air Force gave him security for the rest of the tournament.

Incidentally, Chandrika de Silva has been the country’s women’s singles champion on several occasions.

Niluka Karunaratne is the current men’s singles champion and both of them represented Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi early this month.

Niluka Karunaratne was not available for comment.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

Sahan to represent sri Lanka at Wong Cup Festival

Sahan Sachinda Rathnayake, joins the Sri Lankan badminton team leaving for South Korea tomorrow to represent Sri Lanka at the 12 day ‘Wongu Cup 2010’ international sports festival which is held to promote peace and friendship among youth in different parts of the world.

Sahan started his badminton at St. Anne’s College. Kurunegala when he was in the sixth standard. Recognizing the talents and performances, Sahan was called to Joseph Vass College, Wennappuwa by Indika Sheevan who was then the school’s badminton coach. During this period Sahan had won several Provincial and Open Badminton titles under the age categories of 15 and 17.

Witnessing the performances shown by him in a schools open tournament played in Wennappuwa, Luvi Karunaratne who was a senior Official in SLBA at that time gave Sahan an opportunity to attend National Badminton Junior Pool practices. This opened up the path for Sahan to be selected to Ananda College, Colombo.

During 2008 and 2009 Sahan performed very well and especially so far in the year 2010 Sahan was very successful delivering many outstanding results in badminton. Some of the key achievements are as follows:

• Represented Sri Lanka at the World Junior Badminton Championship held in April 2010 in Guadalajara, Mexico with Three other players: Dilshan, Minimuthu and Malinaka
• Champion of the under 19 boys singles event in the all island age group badminton championship organized by the University of Moratuwa in July 2010
• Champion of under 19 boys singles and doubles (partnerered by Malinka Ranasinghe) events in the All Island Open Badminton Championship organized by SSC in August 2010
• Champion of the under 19 boys singles and doubles (partnerered by Dilshan Kariyawasam) events in the Badminton Junior Nationals Championship-2010, organized by Sri Lanka Schools Badminton Association.

Sahan is the only son of Capt (Rtd.) Jayantha Ratnayake who too has excelled at sports. Furthermore Sahan is the grandson of former Capt. Nihal Nilaweera who had a brilliant career in sports at S. Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia in the mid sixties.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

Vishaka badminton champs

Vishaka Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo emerged champs at the all-island Badminton tournament held recently. Oshadi Kuruppu who also has overseas exposure leads her side. She has

reperesneted Sri lanka at several tournaments abroad. Oshadi showcased her talents at last year’s Asian Juniors too.

“I am glad that we were able to bag the all-island trophy this year. Credit should go to all our team members who played with dedication and commitment. Among them are key players like Achini Rathnasiri, Ameesha Dias, Kavisha Narangoda, Nilupuli Liyanage, Kavindya Perera and Thisuri Fernando. In the finals we had to face another talented team from Sirimavo Balika. Though we expected some resistance from Ambalangoda Dharmasoka, we were able to trounce them in the semi finals,” said Oshadi.(www.dailymirror.lk)

Shuttle double for Thilini

S M Jiffrey Abdeen, - Kandy Sports Correspondent

Former Olympic shuttler and National Champion Thilini Jayasinghe put up a sparkling display to win a double at the Central Province Open Badminton Championship organized by the Sri Lanka Badminton Association and the Central Province Badminton Association and concluded at St Anthony’s College courts, Katugastota yesterday night.

Thilini Jayasinghe displaying excellent court craft with bemusing placings to fox former women’s National Champion of many years Chandrika de Silva and won the first set 21-19 then cruised to a 21-15 win in the second set.

She later won the mixed doubles title partnered by Hasitha Chanaka to beat Lasitha Menaka and Nadeesha Gayathri 21-16, 16-21 and 21-19 to complete the double.

The men’s singles finals turned out to be a non-starter as No 1 seeded Diluka Karunaratne conceded a walk over to No 2 seeded Lasitha Menaka on grounds of a leg injury. But the President of the SLBA Roshan Gunawardena said that Diluka Karunaratne did not make use of the medical facilities made available by the Sports Ministry to obtain a medical report and an investigation will be conducted on this matter as they are not satisfied with what has happened.

Lasitha Chanaka also completed the double by winning the men’s singles and men’s doubles partnered by Manjula Fernando beat H S Perera and A C Fernando 16-21, 21-13 and 21-13.

Sports Minister C B Ratnayake was the chief guest and he distributed the awards with Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake and CPBA President Mahinda Kumara.

Results of the finals

Men’s singles final: Lasitha Menaka recieved walk over from Diluka Karunaratne.

Women’s singles: Thilini Jayasinghe beat Chandrika de Silva 21-19, 21-15.

Men’s doubles: Lasitha Chanaka and Manjula Fernando beat H S Perera and A C Fernando 16-21, 21-13, 21-13.

Mixed doubles: Thilini Jayasinghe and Hasitha Chanaka beat Lasitha Menaka and Nadeesha Gayathri 21-16, 16-21, 21-19. Under-12 girls: Rashmindi Kotigala beat Thushani Hewa 21-2, 21-3.

Under-12 boys: M A Tennakoon beat M R F Shaadher 21-17, 16-21, 21-12.

Under-15 boys: Krishan Danushka beat Wiswa Karangoda 21-19, 21-19.

Under-15 girls: Gayathri Herath beat Lihini Wijesinghe 21-16, 21-14.

Under-17 girls: Maneesha Fonseka beat Ayesha de Silva 21-17, 21-9.

Under-17 boys: Rakhitha Perera beat P K Hettiarachchi 21-16, 21-19.

Women’s doubles: Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika beat Chandrika de Silva and Lekha Shehani 21-19, 16-21, 21-15.

(www.dailynews.lk)

Meets Chandrika in Central Province Open final:

Thilini ousts Achini in women's open semi final

by S. M. Jiffrey ABDEEN Kandy Sports Corr.

Tilini Jayasinghe

Former Olympic game shuttler and No. 3 seeded Tilini Jayasinghe created an upset when she beat the No. 1 seeded Achini Ratnasiri in a three setter to enter the finals of the womens singles on the second day of the Central Province Open Badminton Championship organised by the Sri Lanka Badminton Association and Worked off at St. Anthony's College Courts, Kandy yesterday.

Thilini lost the first set 17/21 but bounced back to win the next two sets 21/11 and 21/17 in a courageous fight back. Thilini will now meet former national champions Chandrika de Silva in the finals of the womens singles.

Most of the seeded players won their matches in this ranking tournament. The finals will be played this afternoon. The Chief Minister of Central Province Sarath Ekanayake will be the chief guest.

RESULTS:

Semi-final men's singles: Diluka Karunaratne beat A.C. Fernando 21/15, 21/5.

Lasitha Menaka beat Hasith Chanaka 21/16, 21/7.

Women's single: Thilini Jayasinghe beat Achini Ratnasiri 17/21, 21/11, 21/17.

Chandrika de Silva beat Lekah Shehani 5/21, 21/9, 24/22.

Under-12 girls: Thushari Herath beat N.C. Jayasundera 21/15, 15/21, 22/20.

Rasmindi Kotigala beat D.M. Thanthriwatte 21/7, 21/7.

Under-12 boys: M.A. Tennakoon beat D. Stouter 21/16, 21/14. M. R. F. Sadeer beat K. D. Gunawardena 21/12, 21/14.

Under-15 boys: Chrishan Dhanushka beat S. Wijesekera 21/18, 21/14.

Wishwa Karangoda beat K.U. Gurusinghe 21/13, 21/18.

Under-15 girls: H. Gayathri beat Samadhi Ratnayake 21/9, 21/7.

Lihini Wijesinghe beat Diminigi Kotigala 21/16, 13/21, 21/15.

Under-17 girls: Maneesha Fonseka receives walk over from C. Liyanage Ayesha de Silva beat Yasmitha Weddamulla 21/18, 18/21, 21/17.

Under-17 boys: Rakhitha Perera beat D.T. Ratnayake 21/14, 21/19.

P.K. Hettiarachchi beat C. Nugaliyadde 21/17, 18/21, 21/17.

(www.sundayobserver.lk)

Sri Lanka Badminton Association

Sri Lanka Badminton Association

http://www.badminton.lk/

All Ananda final set for today

Rakitha Perera and Sahan Ratnayake came through their two semifinal boys under 19 matches at the Junior National Badminton Championships, held at the Sri Lankan Badminton Association courts yesterday, to set up an all Ananda College final.

Perera was clinical in his destruction of L. Dixon from D.S Senanayake, calmly dismantling him in straight sets 21-14, 21-9. Dixon stood no chance against the faster Perera, who executed his strokes with deadly accuracy, picking out the corners of the court with great ease.

Rakitha Perera from Ananda College made it into the Under 19 Boys’ Finals. (Pic by Ranjith Perera)

As the final set progressed it looked highly unlikely that Dixon would stage any comeback into the match as he seemed to have nothing left in the tank and eventually inevitably conceded the match.
The other semifinal between Sahan Ratnayake and C. Minimuthu proved to be a more closely contested affair. After a one sided first set, which Sahan took 21-13, Minimuthu stormed back to make things interesting, smashing the ball in to the corner to give him the second set 21-16. In the decisive third set Ratnayake took hold of proceedings and shut out the match 21-11.

The under 17 boys singles also provided another fierce battle between two evenly matched opponents, when Harindu Hettiarachchi from Royal took on Vibavi Madushan from Alethea International School.

Hettiarachchi played the first set very calmly, working his man around the court before emphatically smashing the shuttlecock past the helpless Madushan. A few minutes into the first set and Hettiaratchi had raced to a 17-12 lead. Afterwards Madushan won only one more point before Hettiaratchi raced to clinch the first set 21-13.

Madushan then composed himself and surged back into the match during the second set. Eventually things were tied at nine games all but Madushan then roared to life quite literally, working the shuttle around brilliantly before deftly sneaking it over the net and letting out a loud shout when he took the set 21-15.

The third set was an even battle and both boys pulled off impressive points, but eventually Madushan held on to secure the set 21-17 and book a place in the finals. He will meet Omal Vishwanath from S. Thomas’ College who enjoyed a straightforward 21-13, 21-10 victory over Damith Yatawara from D.S Senanayake.

The Boys and Girl’s Singles and Doubles finals for each age group will be played today at S. Thomas’ College starting in the morning.

www.sundaytimes.lk

අද ලෝකය බොහෝ දියුණුය. එහි එක් ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස අන්තර්ජාලය මිනිසාට සේවය කරමින් මිනිස් අවශ්‍යතා කඩිනම් හා පහසු කර දී ඇත.
විදේශීය ක්‍රීඩකයින්,ක්‍රීඩා බළදාරීන් අන්තර්ජාලයේහි ඇති දත්ත තමාගේ දියුණුව,වර්දනය සදහා වැඩි වැඩියෙන් යොදා ගනී.
එහෙත් අප රටේ ක්‍රීඩකයින්,ක්‍රීඩා බළදාරීන් හෝ වගකිව යුත්තන් අන්තර්ජාලයෙන් වැඩක් ගන්නවාද යන්න සැක සහිතය. එයට හේතුව ඔවූන් එය පරිශීලණයට නොදැනීමද නැතහොත් එහි ඇති අගේ නොදැනීමද නොදනිමි.
කෙසේ නමුත් අප ක්‍රීඩකයින්ට,විදේශීය ක්‍රීඩකයින් සමග උරෙන් උර ගැටෙමින් අප මව්බිමට ජය ගෙනෙන්නට නම් නව තාක්ෂණය හා නව ක්‍රමවේද අප ක්‍රීඩකයින්ට ඉගැන්විය යුතුය. නැත හොත් ඔලිම්පික් මෙඩලයක් කෙසේ වෙතත් සාෆ් මෙඩලයක් වත් ඉදිරියේදී දිනා ගැනීම සිහිනයකී.
අප ක්‍රීඩකයින්,ක්‍රීඩා බළදාරීන් අන්තර්ජාලය වෙත ගෙන ඒමට හා ඔවූන්ට අන්තර්ජාලයෙහි ඇති තොරතුරු පහසුවෙන් පරිශීලණය කිරීමටත් හුරු කිරීම මෙම වෙබ් අඩවිය තුලින් බලාපොරොත්තු වෙමි.
ඒ සදහා සහය,අදහස් හා යෝජනා සදහා සකල ශ්‍රී ලංකාවාසී ඔබ සැමට ඉතා ගෞරවයෙන් යුක්තව කරන ආරාධනයයි මේ..............

Quarter-finalists found in boys under 19 singles

The quarter finalists were found in the boys under 19 singles category at the Junior National Badminton Championship conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Badminton Association at the SLBA Indoor Courts at Maitland Place yesterday.

Under 19 boys singles. Pre-quarter finals.

M.Chinthaka (Devananda, Ambalangoda) beat Shanon Fernando (St. Peter’s) 7-21, 21-19, 18-21. Sahan Ratnayake (Ananda) beat Piyumal Somathileka (Royal) 11-21, 13-21. I.U. Gurusinghe (Dharmaraja) beat Didula Sahabandu (St. Joseph’s) 16-21, 21-12, 2-0, W/O. Chinthaka Minimuthu (Alethia Int.) beat Marlon Fernando (St. Joseph’s) 21-5, 21-5. Shamika Nugaliadda (St. Anthony’s(K)) beat Lahiru Madusanka (Dharmasoka) 21-16, 21-12. Dixon Lionsmith (DSSC) beat Pasindu Wickrematileka (Kegalu MV) 15-21, 4-21), M.S. Ranasinghe (S. Thomas’) beat Dulshan Gunaratne (Nalanda) 21-13, 21-14. Rakitha Perera (Ananda) beat N.A. Gunatileka (Royal) 21-13, 21-12.

Quarter finals line up for today.

M. Chinthaka (Sri Devananda) vs Sahan Ratnayake (Ananda). I.U. Gurusinghe (Dharmaraja) vs Chinthaka Minimuthu (Alethia IS). Shamika Nugaliadde (St. Anthony’s) vs Dixon Lionsmith (DSSC). M.S. Ranasinghe (S. Thomas’) vs Rakitha Perera (Ananda).

The championship will continue today at the D S Senanayake College, Musaeus College and S Thomas’ indoor courts.

(www.dailynews.lk)

Full house for Junior National Badminton C’ships

Full house for Junior National Badminton C’ships

A full house of 1205 shuttlers will be seen in action when the ‘AVI’ sponsored Junior National Championships is worked off from Wednesday, August 25 to 29 at four venues.

The tournament will be conducted by the Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) and the Schools Badminton Association of Sri Lanka (SBASL) in partnership with D.Samson and Sons (Pvt) Limited , the sole marketer and distributor for the ‘AVI’ range of sportswear under the flagship of DSI Samson Group.

The preliminaries were conducted on a District and Zonal basis from June to July where 6061 players from 201 schools in 19 districts/zones participated.

The following events are scheduled to be worked off. singles and doubles in the age groups for under 11,13,15,17, 19 for both boys and girls as well as a mixed for the under 19.

Given below are the age groups and venues Under 11 and 13 at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, Under 15 at D.S. Senanayake. Under 17 and 19 boys at SLBA. Under 17 and 19 girls at Musaeus College.

The prize distribution and closing ceremony will be held on August 29 at 4.00 p.m. at S. Thomas’ College Indoor Stadium.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

SSC Badminton final today

The final events of the SSC Badminton Open Championships will be worked off today at the club Courts from 8 a.m. onwards. Being a ranking tournament, the open finals will commence at 2 p.m. which will be followed by the awards presentation from 6 p.m. onwards. Besides the trophies and certificates, this tournament carries cash awards totaling to a sum of Rs. 415,000/- which will be distributed among the winners and runners up.

The event is sponsored by Etisalat, HNB and Fonterra. In some of the semi-final events that were worked off yesterday Maheshi Fonseka qualified to meet Thilini Promodika in the Girl’s under 15 final while Mansala Ranawana will meet Aveesha Kisholi Dias in the under 19 final. The two matches will be played at 10 am. and 12 noon respectively.

In the girl’s under 15 doubles Maheshi Fonseka and Thilini Promodika will meet Yasmitha Wedamulla and Lihini Wijesinghe at 10 am. In the women’s doubles final Achini N. Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika will meet Chandrika de Silva and Oshadie Kuruppu at 4 p.m.

The programme reads as: 8 am to 11am: Boys U11 singles, Girls U 11 singles, U 13 Boys Singles, Girls U 13 singles, Boys U 15 singles and Girls U 15 singles. (All Finals).

10 am to 12 noon: Girls and Boys U 13 Doubles, Girls and Boys U 15 Doubles. Boys U 17 singles, Girls U 17 singles.

12 noon to 2 p.m. Boys U 19 Singles, Girls Under 19 singles, Girls U 17 Doubles Boys U 17 Doubles.

(www.sundaytimes.lk)

Record entries for SSC badminton

Record entries for SSC badminton

A record number of 771 entries have been received for the much awaited SSC Open Badminton Championships, which has been approved by the Sri Lanka Badminton Association as a National Ranking Tournament for the Open events to be played from August 7 to 15 at the SSC badminton complex.

The championships will be conducted in collaboration with the SLBA.

Last year for some mysterious and weird reason this tournament was not granted Ranking Status.

Prize money for the winners and runners-up total a staggering Rs. 415,000 which is the highest prize money offered in any badminton tournament this year so far thus encouraging players to participate in this prestigious event.

Payment of this large sum of prize money has been made possible due to the generous sponsorship of Hatton National Bank, Etisalat Lanka (Private) Limited, Fonters Brands Lanka (Private) Limited and John Keels Food Products PLC.

SSC will be awarding prize money, trophies and certificates to all winners while the runners-up will receive prize money and certificates.

Certificates will be awarded to semi and quarter finalists of all categories.

All the top shuttlers (both men and women) will be seen in action and exciting badminton should be provided at this championship.

The draw will be held on Wednesday, August 4 and will be displayed on the SSC notice boards at the SLBA and on the SSC Websitre www.ssc.lk.

The following ranking events are scheduled to be worked off:

Mixed doubles, women’s singles and doubles, men’s singles and doubles while the over 40 and 50 veterans singles and doubles will no be ranking events.

The children’s events to be worked off are under 15 girls singles and doubles, boys and girls under 17 singles and doubles, under 19 girls and boys singles and doubles.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

Lanka shuttlers leave for Syrian Open

A team of four shuttlers left for Damascus yesterday to participate in the Syrian Open Badminton Championships which commences today.

While Lasitha Karunatilake and Kasun Madushanka comprises the men’s team, Thilina Jayasinghe and Chandrika De Silva will represent the women.

The participating countries are, Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Vietnam, Bahrain, Libya, Pakistan, Philippines, Kazakhastan, Sri Lanka and the host country Syria.

(BM)

(www.dailymirror.lk)

Entering 2nd round is creditable Says Niluka Karunaratne

Sri Lanka should be satisfied that their shuttlers were able to enter the second round of the Asian Badminton Championships in New Delhi as they were competing in a competition which was dominated by several world class players. This sentiment was expressed by Sri Lanka’s leading badminton player Niluka Karunaratne.

Sri Lanka lost her only hope when the Karunaratne brothers Nilika and Dinuka were defeated in the second round of the men’s doubles event at the Asian Badminton Championships in New Delhi.
The Korean duo of Gun Woo Cho and Yeon Seong You took the game 2-0 thus doing away the need of playing a third set.

Players from 20 countries amounting to about 300 players took part in the championships.
With this defeat every member of the Sri Lanka contingent bowed out of the Asian championships.
India is hosting the championship as a forerunner for the Commonwealth Games to be held in the same city in October this year.

(www.sundaytimes.lk)

Unimpressive Sri Lankan shuttlers crushed in India

Sri Lanka lost her last hope yesterday when the Karunaratne brothers, Niluka and Dinuka, succumbed to defeat in the second round of the men's double event at the Asian Badminton Championships, 2010, in New Delhi, India. The Korean duo of Gun Woo Cho and Yeon Seong You pocketed the game 2-0, thus doing away the need for a third set.

With this defeat, every member of the Sri Lankan contingent has bowed out of the Asian Championship. Only the Karunaratne brothers, Niluka and Dinuka, managed to progress towards the second round.

The Karunaratne brothers battled determinedly against the Koreans yesterday. They lost the first round 16/21 and then conceded the game by losing 15-21 in the second. However, Niluka and Dinuka were able to beat their Pakistani counterparts in the tournament and were content with their achievements.

“Our main focus was on the singles event. Therefore we are really happy as we managed to stretch the Korean players and earlier beat the Pakistanis" elder brother Niluka said after the game. In the women's doubles event, Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika lost the first round game by 2 sets to nil. The scores read 21/08 and 21/10.

World's number one, Dan Lee has already qualified for the semi finals in the men's individual event while India's national champion Sania Nehwal also booked her place in the quarter finals of the women's singles event.

The tournament concludes tomorrow. India is hosting this championship as a forerunner for the Commonwealth Games to be held in the same city in October this year.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

Asian shuttle championships begin today

Asian shuttle championships begin today

Three hundred participants from 20 countries will be in action from today at the Asian Badminton championships which start today at Sri Port indoor sports complex in New Delhi, India.

Sri Lanka national champion Niluka Karunarathne will play against Asian number seven Hong Kong Yun Hu in the singles event scheduled to be played today while Dinuka Karunaratne and Chandrika de Silva will also the in action in the Doubles against Bangladesh. According to Dinuka Karunaratne the Sri Lanka standard is higher than that Bangladesh “Sri Lanka will have a chance to win the first round match against Bangladesh” he said.

According to the tournament’s mens rankings, Tawfik Hidayat of Indonesia is ranked first followed by world champion and Olympic medalist Lin Dan in second place.

This will be the fourth time India will be organizing the Asian tournament and winners of this tournament will be awarded 150,000 US dollars.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

15-year old Achini for Asian badminton championship

15-year old Achini for Asian badminton championship

Fifteen year old Sri Lankan Achini Ratnasiri will be among a seasoned and professional band of world badminton players who will contest the Asian Badminton Championships to be held in New Delhi starting on April 12.

Achini caused a major upset when she bagged the National title last year while Sri Lanka’s only Olympic player Thilini Jayasinghe has fallen to the number nine rank and not found a place in the eight-member team which leaves today.

Jayasinghe represented Sri Lanka as the first badminton player at an Olympics in 2008 in Beijing.

Twenty countries will contest the tournament including the world’s top five nations China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan.

Sri Lanka’s singles champ on nine occasions Niluka Karunaratne is in the team while so is 11 times winner Chandrika de Silva.

In the Under-16 Asian meet this year Achini teamed up with Upuli Samanthika to win a first time Gold Medal.

Sri Lanka squad: Dinuka Karunaratne, Niluka Karunaratne, Hasitha Chanaka, R. S. Dahanayake, Lasitha Meneka. Women: Chandrika de Silva and Achini Ratnasiri, Upuli Samanthika. Coach: Danesh Maliyawadu.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

They went, saw but did not conquer

It was yet another disappointing performance by the Sri Lankan shuttlers at the Yonex-Sunrise Asia Youth Under 19 Badminton Championships that was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia recently.

In the Mixed Team event, they were completely whitewashed 5-0 by Thailand. The only redeeming feature was in the women’s doubles where Achini Ratnasiri and Samanthika Weerasinghe took the first set (21-12) off Kititarakul Chonthicha and Phetmaneelumkha Rassanan, but the next two sets were won by the Thailand pair, though the Sri Lankan girls went down fighting before conceding 21-19 in the third set.

In the ‘tie’ against Philppines, Sri Lanka gave a better account of themselves where they won men’s and mixed doubles.

However, it was unfortunate that Sri Lanka was drawn into Group’C’ with Thailand one of the strongest team in the circuit and Philippines.

Results:

Mixed Team event – Thailand beat Sri Lanka 5-0

Mixed doubles: Apisuk Inkarat and Taerattanachai Sapsiree beat Dilshan Kariyawasam and Samanthika Weerasinghe 21-11, 21-17.

Men’s singles: Poodchalat beat Nuwan Perera 21-3, 21-11.

Women’s singles: Intanon Ratchanok beat Achini Ratmasiri. 21-14, 21/9.

Men’s doubles: Ampunsuwan Wannawat and Istiyanet Tinn beat Dilshan Kariyawasam and Vishwanath Dharmawardena 21-12, 21-14.

Women’s doubles: Kititarakul Chonthicha and Phetmaneelumka Raassanan beat Achini Ratnasiri and Samanthika Weerasinghe 12-21, 21-12, 21-19.

Philippines beat Sri Lanka 3-2

Women’s singles: Ann Venice beat Achini Ratnasiri 21-18,21-9.

Men’s singles: Philip Joper beat Vishwanath Dharmawardena 12-15, 21 -15.

Women’s doubles: Ann Venice and Gelita Castilo beat Achini Ratnasiri and Samanthika Weerasinghe 21-16, 21-15.

Men’ doubles: Dilshan Kariyawasam and Vishwanath Dharmawardena 19-21, 21-10, 21-17.

Mixed doubles: Dilshan Kariyawasam and Samanthika Weerasinghe beat Philip Joper and Gelita Castilo 21-7, 21-3, 21-0.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

YONEX-SUNRISE ASIA YOUTH UNDER 19 2010 (KUALA LUMPUR)

PHILIPPINES - SRI LANKA : 3-2

Time:	Sun 3/21/2010 6:00 PM
Draw:	MIXED TEAM - Group C
Score:	3-2

Match overview

YONEX-SUNRISE ASIA YOUTH UNDER 19 2010 (KUALA LUMPUR)

THAILAND (THA) - SRI LANKA (SRI): 5-0

Time:	Sun 3/21/2010 9:00 AM
Draw:	MIXED TEAM - Group C
Score:	5-0

Match overview

Sri Lanka annihilate Cambodia 5-0

Sri Lanka annihilated Cambodia by five games to nil in the Thomas Cup preliminary badminton championships now on in Thailand.

However, Sri Lanka came a cropper when India beat them 5-0. But Niluka Karunaratne took one set off Anand Chetan in his men’s singles match and then combined with his brother Diluka to take a set off S. Thomas and R. Kumar in their men’s doubles.

In the ‘tie’ against Thailand, though Sri Lanka went down by 4-1 they put up a gallant fight when Hasitha Chanaka and Rajith Dahanayake beat T. Saesomboonsuk and N. Puangpuapech 21/19, 21/14. In the first men’s singles, Niluka Karunaratne gave T. Saesomboonsuk a good run for his money before going down in two sets while in the second men’s singles, Dinuka Karunaratne was beaten by S. Avihingsanon in a close game.

Results: India beat Sri Lanka 5-0

Men’s singles (1)A. Chetan beat Niluka Karunaratne 21-18, 19-21, 21-17. Men’s singles (2) K. Parupalli beat Dinuka Karunaratne 21-11, 21-10. R.M.V. Gurusaidutt beat R. Dahanayake 21-13, 21-19. Men’s doubles (1) S. Thomas and R. Kumar beat N. Karunaratne and D. Karunaratne 21-14, 18-21, 21-12. Men’s doubles (2) A. Dewalkar and V. Diju beat H. Chanaka and R. Dahanayke 21-11, 21/8.

Thailand beat Sri Lanka 4-1

Men’s singles (1) T. Saensomboonsuk beat N. Karunaratne 21-19, 21-14. S. Men’s singles (2) S. Avihingsanon beat D. Karunaratne 21-19, 21-17. Men’s singles (3) W. Burankruea beat R. Dahanayake 21-5. 18-21, 21-10. Men’s doubles (1) L. Thitipong and P. Chalardchaleam beat N. Karunaratne and D. Karunaratne 21-10, 19-21, 21-14. Men’s doubles (2) Hasitha Chanaka and Rajitha Dahanayake beat N. Puangpuapech and T. Saensomboonsuk 21-19, 21-14.

Sri Lanka beat Cambodia 5-0

Men’s singles (1) N. Karunaratne beat Vann Chanpisey 21-7, 21/1. Men’s singles (2) D. Karunaratne beat Troeung Veasna 21-9, 21-6. Men’s singles (3) Rajitha Dahanayake beat Suon Sophors 21-14, 21-08. Men’s doubles (1) N. Karunaratne and D. Karunaratne beat Chindet and Vandy Mesa 21-14, 21-14.

(www.dailymirror.lk)

Lankan shuttlers lose to Thais 4-1

On the 2nd day of the Thomas Cup the Sri Lankan Badminton team faced tough opponents South Asian giants India and Thailand. Sri Lankan doubles champions Hasith Chanaka and R.S. Dahanayake managed to pull off a shock win against over strong Thai doubles pair. This was the only victory scored by the Lankans against the Thai team and they lost the game 4-1.

The Sri Lankan team managed to thrash Cambodia and score a resounding 5-0 victory over them. In the men’s singles event Sri Lanka national champion Niluka Karunarathne finished the game in straight sets by completely outclassing his Cambodian opponent 21/7, 21/1. Dinuka Karunaratne and R.S. Dahanayake also scored easy victories as they dominated over their opponents.

In the Men’s doubles event National Doubles Champions Hasith Chanaka and R.S -Dahanayake won the match 21/14,21/14. In the other doubles match Niluka partnering his brother Dinuka trounced the Cambodian pair 21/14, 21/6.

(www.dailynews.lk)

11TH SOUTH ASIAN GAMES DHAKA 2010

Winners

Lankan shuttle team blend of youth and experience

South Asian Games 2010 is just a week away and the Sri Lankan teams are hard at practice to make their motherland proud. The Badminton team which was finally selected for the Games comprises of top shuttlers with previous South Asian Games experience such as Niluka Karunarathne, Thilini Jayasinghe and Chandrika de Silva.

The Sri Lanka National men’s and women’s badminton team along with the officials who will participate in the up coming 11th South Asian Games which will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Picture by Ranjith Jayaweera

Newly crowned women's champion Achini Ratnasiri and the new men's doubles champions Hasith Chanaka and R.S Dahanayake are also part of the 12 member squad which is going to leave the island soon. Promising young star Nuwan Hettiarachchi and girls champion Lekha Shehani are new additions for the squad which displays a fine blend of youth and experience and is expected to perform well in the upcoming Games. According to the team manager Sqr. Leader Amal Dias although Sri Lanka will face tough competition from their Indian counterpart they are expected to at least win a single gold medal. Sri Lanka managed to win the Silver medal in the team event at the last edition of the South Asian games which was held in Sri Lanka in 2006.

The full team is as follows.

Men: Niluka Karunaratne, Dinuka Karunaratne, Nuwan Hettiarchchi, Diluka Karunaratna, R.S. Dahanayake, Hasitha Chanaka.
Women : Thilini Jayasingha, Chandrika de Silva, Achini Ratnasiri, Lekha Shehani, Nadeesha Gayathri, Upuli Samanthika Weerasingha.
Coach - K.S Pushpakumara
Manager - Sqr. Leader Amal Dias

---

Niluka Karunaratne

24 years - Men's Singles, Mixed doubles

He is Sri Lanka's best bet in Badminton for the upcoming Games. Niluka has won the national singles Championship for nine consecutive times since 2001. Niluka represented Sri Lanka in the SAG 2006 and 2004. In 2006 in the team finals match a 20 year old Niluka lost to India's Champion Chetan after three gruelling sets of intense stroke play. Niluka who studied at Royal College Colombo 7, also won a Bronze medal in the 2004 edition of SAG.

In the year 2010 Niluka displayed his dominance by winning the Mercantile Singles, SSC open and the senior National titles. Niluka also won the Senior Nationals mixed doubles championship along with the experienced Chandrika de Silva. Niluka is currently employed at Seylan Bank.

---

Achini Ratnasiri

16 years - Women's Singles, Women's Doubles

Achini created history when she won the Women's Singles championship by beating veteran Chandrika de Silva. She also won the Women's Doubles title along with her doubles partner who were also won the gold medal in the Asian Junior Badminton tournament in 2009. Achini who is currently ranked number 1 in rankings is one of Sri Lanka's brightest prospects for the future. She likes to play the defensive game to tire her opponent and uses the drop shot and the fake smash to gain points. She currently studies at Visaka Vidyalaya and this is her maiden SAG.

---

Rajitha S. Dahanayake

The 16 year old Rajitha was part of the team which won the silver medal in 2006 SAG.

After his first South Asian Games experience R.S has improved immensely and matured as a player and is one half of the new men's doubles champions. He is an old boy of Dharmaraja College Kandy.

---

Nuwan Hettiarachchi

A youngster who has shown lot of promise and easily is the best player in the schools arena. Nuwan who currently studies at Ananda College, Colombo was crowned the triple champion at the Junior Nationals in 2009. He also won a triple crown at the all island age group 2009 tournament. Due to his impressive performances Nuwan was awarded 'The most outstanding Badminton Player of the Year 2009' by Sri Lanka Badminton Association.

---

Diluka Karunaratne

23 years - Men's Doubles

Diluka along with his brother Dinuka were the runners up in the men's doubles event of the Senior Nationals tournament 2009. An attacking player like his brother Niluka, he likes to play the smash shot and uses it to good effect.

He represented Sri Lanka in the 10th SAG 2006 in Colombo and was part of the team which won the Silver medal. Diluka combined with Dinuka won the men's doubles events in the Mercantile tournament and in the SSC open 2009. He too is an employee of Seylan Bank.

---

Upuli Samanthika

15 years - Women's Doubles

Upuli who is a student of Sirimavo Bandaranayake Vidyalaya is Achini's doubles partner. She has had an impressive 2009 as she won the women's doubles championship at the senior nationals 2009.Upuli would be participating in her first SAG.

---

Chandrika de Silva

35 years - Women's Singles, Women's Doubles, Mixed Doubles

She is Sri Lanka's most experienced badminton player and has taken part in many international tournaments. She has won the women's championship several times and in 2009 Chandrika was dethroned by young sensation Achini Ratnasiri at the Senior Nationals. An old girl of Swarnapali Balika M.V, Anuradhapura, Chandrika has won 2 silver medals and 6 Bronze medals in 2006 and 2004 SAG. She is also the current women's doubles champion along with her partner Nadeesha Gayanthi who is also part of the team. Chandrika also won the mixed doubles championship along with top seed Niluka Karunaratne. She currently works at Seylan Bank.

---

Nadeesha Gayanthi

25 years - Women's Doubles

Nadeesha who is another experienced shuttler will take part in her third SAG. She has won a Silver medal at the team event and along with her doubles partner Chandrika, she managed to win a Bronze medal in the women's doubles event. She has also won a Silver medal in the team event of the 2004 SAG.Experienced coach K.S Pushpakumara who is a former national player will act as the team coach for the SAG. Sqr. Leader Amal Dias who is also the Secretary of the Badminton Association will act as the team manager for the Dhaka games.

---

Lekha Shehani

17 years - Mixed Doubles

Lehka had a fantastic 2009 as she was crowned the triple champion in the Junior National tournament 2009.She bagged the under 19 Singles,Doubles and Mixed Doubles championships and came tantalizingly close to beat Chandrika de Silva in the Women's Singles finals of the SSC Open. Lekha would take part in the Mixed Doubles event along with her doubles partner Dinuka Karunaratne at the upcoming SAG. She is currently studying at Our lady of Victories Convent, Moratuwa.

---

Dinuka Karunaratne

22 years - Men's Singles, Men's doubles, Mixed doubles

The youngest member of the Karunaratne brothers. Dinuka had an impressive 2009. He was the runner up in the men's singles event at the Senior Nationals which he lost against to his brother Niluka.

Dinuka along with Lekha Shehani fought hard against an experienced duo of Niluka and Chandrika in the Senior Nationals mixed doubles finals but were beaten in a closely contested game. Dinuka an old Royalist will take part in the men's singles, mens doubles and mixed doubles events. He was also a part of the team which won the Silver medal in 2006. Presently works at Hatton National Bank.

---

Thilini Jayasinghe

25 years - Women's Singles

Thilini was the first women shuttler to represent Sri Lanka in the Olympic Games. She was also the captain of the Sri Lankan team for the World Mixed team championships held in China.

Thilini who is an old girl of Mahamaya College, Kandy was part of the team which won the Silver medal in the SAG 2006. She currently works at Sampath Bank as a Junior executive.

---

Hasitha Chanaka

25 years - Men's doubles

An old boy of Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda Hasitha Chanaka along with his doubles partner R.S Dahanayake scored a shock win over top seeds Diluka and Dinuka Karunarathne in the men's doubles final at the Senior Nationals 2009 and were crowned the new men's doubles champions. He would be take parting in his 1st South Asian Games. Hasitha who is a cricketer as well was the opening partner of Sri Lankan National opener Upul Tharanga at school level.

He is also an undergraduate at the Jayawardenepura University and is presently employeed at Sampath Bank.

(www.dailynews.lk)

Shuttlers aim to hog the limelight

Badminton in Sri Lanka might not enjoy super status, but the players and officials are aiming at associating themselves with the type of glory that the country’s cricketers have achieved at international level.

Interestingly, the Sri Lanka Badminton headquarters is situated just opposite the headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket, at Maitland Crescent.

These shuttlers see the cricketers come and go in their flashy vehicles and the publicity they get on television, all because cricket in the country received a shot in the arm after the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

The upcoming South Asian Games (SA Games), presents a great opportunity for the sport to benefit from if the players win a rich haul of medals. Sri Lanka’s coach K. S. Pushpakumara is of the opinion that the players are aiming at gold medals at the next edition of the games which will be held in Bangladesh from February 4 to 28.

At the 2006 edition of the Games held in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka managed to win two silver medals (Men’s and women’s team events) and four bronze medals in the individual events. According to coach Pushpakumara, the reason for the success was the team having ample time on their hands to prepare. "We also used a lot of scientific training," said Pushpakumara, who was entrusted to train the players at the last SA Games. For the record, Pushpakumara is a former national player and was the Sri Lanka coach at the SA Games in 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2006. He is also armed with a diploma obtained from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, India and is also a BWF (World) Academy qualified coach.

He sees the SA Games as one of the best opportunities for Sri Lankan players to win medals in their own region. He also rates Sri Lanka at second place behind India in terms of how the badminton players have performed this year, in South Asia.

He is coaching the national players after a lapse of three years and observes that his charges have made good progress. "The young players have received a lot of exposure at foreign tournaments and it’s good to have the Asian Under-16 gold medal winning pair in the team to boost our chances of winning medals. The seniors too have made improvements and this is reflected in their game plan, fitness, accuracy and speed," he said.

He said that the Karunaratne brothers (Niluka, Dinuka and Diluka), carried Sri Lanka’s hopes in the men’s team, in terms of winning medals. "The doubles pair of R. S. Dhahanayake and Hasitha Chanaka are shaping up well and should do well in the tournament," he said.

Commenting on the women’s team, he said veteran player Chandrika De Silva had brought in a lot of experience to the side and a lot was expected from her. Pushpakumara, however, had a word of caution for De Silva, saying that she was playing in too many events and she should concentrate on a few events instead. The other promising women’s players in the side are Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika Weerasinghe and Olympian Thilini Jayasinghe.

Members of the Sri Lanka team have also been blessed to have the services of Netherlands’ national coach Martin Van Doremaler who is working with the players. Doremaler, according to Pushpakumara, is expected to fine tune the training of the players. Pushpakumara said that Doremaler was happy with the progamme he had drawn up for the players.

The physical fitness of the players is handled by renowned fitness trainer Mohotilal Jayatilake and the manager of the team is Squadron Leader Amal Dias, who is also a member of the National Pool Management Committee.

The Sri Lanka team:

Niluka Karunaratne, Dinuka Karunaratne, Nuwan Hettiarachchi, Diluka Karunaratne, R. S. Dahanayake, and Hasitha Chanaka (Men). Achini Ratnasiri, Thilini Jayasinghe, Chandrika de Silva, Lekha Shehani, Upuli Samanthika and Nadeesha Gayathri (Women).
(www.island.lk)

Chanaka aims for international medal

Chanaka aims for international medal

Great sportspersons have amazing life stories and Hasitha Chanaka, a top level badminton player in the country has his own.

Although it’s in badminton that Chanaka has made a name for himself he has many facets to his life.

It was he who created the five rupee coin and the thousand rupee note that were published in 2007 after Sri Lanka’s cricket team emerged runners-up of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Furthermore, he also opened batting with Upul Tharanga for the Darmasoka College cricket team and went onto captain the future Sri Lankan Test opener.

Often sports prevents athletes from pursuing their studies successfully, but not Chanaka. He got through his Advanced Level Examination with flying colours that too in Science stream and qualified for Sri Jayewardenepura University.

But he gave up that to pursue his interests in badminton and joined Sampath Bank, without whose support he says that excellence in the sport wouldn’t have been possible.

Teaming up with Rajitha Dahanayake, Chanaka came up with some stunning performances in the recently concluded National Badminton Championship.

The pair defeated the two brothers Diluka and Dinuka Karunaratne, who have lots of experience having won several national titles. Incidentally, the two brothers were declared the champion and the runner-up respectively in the singles event.

Chanaka who has represented Sri Lanka on several overseas tournaments is yet to win an international medal, but at the age of 25, there’s no doubt in his mind that he will be able to win a medal soon.

The highlight of his career was helping Sri Lanka to attain a higher international rank after taking part in Sudirman Cup in China last year under the captaincy of Thilini Jayasinghe where the team secured the 31st position recovering from number 36.

Chanaka said that his next aim is to enable the country win a medal in an international event.

"I am disappointed about certain things that I did in my life. But you can’t change the past. At the end of the day, I am happy with what I have achieved now," Chanaka said in an interview recently.

"I must thank the management of the Sampath Bank and the Marketing Division of the bank for helping me out to reach this level. Without their help, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far."

"I must thank my coaches as well namely Nishanthi Withanage, Kamani Silva, Danesh Mallayawadu, Sanjaya Sumanasiri, Pradeep Welagedara and Mothilal Jayathilake". Concluded Chanaka
(www.island.lk)

Sports Minister ratifies badminton selections

The Ministry of Sports has ratified the names of 12 players who were picked to represent Sri Lanka at the upcoming South Asian Games to be hosted by Bangladesh, this month.

According to a release issued by the Badminton Federation of Sri Lanka, the players named in the national team for the game are: Niluka Karunaratne, Dinuka Karunaratne, Nuwan Hettiarachchi, Diluka Karunaratne, R.S.Dahanayake, Hasitha Chanaka (Men), Achini Ratnasiri, Thilini Jayasinghe, Chandrika de Silva, Lekha Shehani, Upuli Samanthika, Nadeesha Gayathri. (RN)
(www.island.lk)

Niluka Karunaratne wins men’s singles crown

Badminton finds new queen Ratnasiri

Despite all the gloom in the badminton circles, the 57th National badminton Championships produced some sparks with the emergence of teenager Achini Ratnasiri as the new women’s singles champion.

Just a few days before this much looked forward to tournament there was chaos in badminton with some players refusing to contest trials for this month’s South Asian Games. But then all the top players in the country showed keen enthusiasm to play in the nationals which is considered the mother of all domestic tournaments.

Ratnasiri, a 16-year-old lass, ended the reign of veteran Chandrika de Silva in the women’s singles finals. Ratnasiri won 21-15, 21-15.

Stiff competition was expected to come De Silva’s way from Ratnasiri as the latter is already established in the badminton scene, despite her raw age. Ratnasiri last year teamed up with Upuli Samanthika and rewrote the Asian badminton record books by winning the gold medal in the girls under 16 doubles final.

Ratnasiri was in control from the first game itself and got the better of De Silva who looked drained of all energy, by the time of the women’s singles final. De Silva took part in the women’s singles, women’s doubles and the mixed doubles and many thought this was a little too much, considering her age. For the record De Silva had, till last year’s nationals, lost a singles final just once in her illustrious career during which she has bagged the singles crown 11 times. De Silva however, got some consolation when she won the mixed doubles finals when she teamed up with Niluka Karunaratne to beat Dinuka Karunaratne and Lekha Shehani 21-15, 21-11.

Niluka Karunaratne showed he is the king in the men’s category by winning the singles event for the ninth time. Karunaratne demolished his younger sibling Dinuka 21-14, 21-14 in a one-sided affair. It is interesting to see whether Karunaratne can make the ideal progress as a top player due to the lack of competition for him in the local scene. Karunratne will be one of Sri Lanka’s best bets at the upcoming SA Games to be held in Bangladesh.

The men’s doubles event produced the sparks at the finals which was witnessed by a sparse but appreciative crowd.

Hasitha Chanaka (an old boy of Dhamasoka Ambalangoda) and R.S.Dahanayake (An old boy of Dharmaraja College Kandy) teamed up to beat the number one ranked pair in the tournament, Diluka Karunaratne and Dinuka Karunratne (Brothers). Chanaka and Dhahanayake won 21-18, 23-21 in thrilling fashion, which was possible because they played attacking badminton.

Asian gold medal winning pair Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika teamed up to beat Subodha Dhahanayake and Gayani Perera 21-5, 21-15 to win the women’s doubles finals.

There was a drop in the total number of matches at the nationals compared to past editions of the tournament. But the organizers of the tournament stressed that the important fact was that all top rated players took part in the tournament which was played over a period of four days at the Royal College Sports Complex, in Reid Avenue.

The players received certificates and medals but no cash prizes like in the past.
(www.island.lk)

Achini Ratnasiri badminton’s newest phenomenon

Achini Ratnasiri badminton’s newest phenomenon

Every now and then, there comes a sportsman or sportswoman who truly gains from playing a sport - a personality so modest, so respectful, so devoid of any hubris and yet intense, determined and confident.

This is Achini Ratnasiri the youngest National Badminton Champion at fifteen years of age. This O level student of Visakha Vidyalaya stands with calmness written on her chiseled features while her whole stance emanates energy. The outward calmness disguises the coiled up energy that is about to spring.

She has just defeated the National Champion of ten years – 35 year- old veteran, Chandrika de Silva in straight sets at the final of Sri Lanka’s National Badminton Championships. Of her game in the final – Achini says ‘I was confident of winning’.

She had a lot of encouragement from her school coach Danesh who told her that she was faster, stronger and definitely could play without making any mistakes.

As the game started, Achini says that she was very surprised by the many mistakes that Chandrika was making. But then she immediately covers it with -‘I don’t know if I am getting better or that she is losing her touch after winning so many matches in so many years.’

Anyhow the time has come for a young new champion to take over. She also beat Olympian Thilini Jayasinghe in the semi-finals. She widens her eyes in surprise at her own performance in three sets against Thilini where the fast paced game that she played helped her win.

Her family and up-bringing refuse to allow her to gloat or boast about her incredible achievement at such a young age. She is very matter of fact about her win. She does not have a personal coach. Never has had one. She used to watch her older sister Ruwini Chathurika play badminton at Lindsay Girls’ School every practice session. Looking at her, the teacher in charge told her mother to start off the nine year old Achini on badminton.

She played three times a week with Lindsay Girls’ School’s coach Srimal Aponso until she joined Visakha Vidyalaya last year. Now, as a member of the National pool, coach Pushpakumara and physical trainer Jayathilake play a big role in helping her develop her game. She is playing better than ever before. Her weakness in her short serve has almost been ironed out.

‘My strength’ she says with a smile is the ‘chop’ shot. She practices very hard at it and is the ‘chop specialist’. This shot helps speed up her game and makes it very difficult for an opponent who does not have too much stamina.

About her game, Achini says with child-like intensity ‘my being left-handed is definitely a big advantage.’ Usually most badminton players have a weak back-hand and the opponent tries to use that weakness to their advantage. In her case, however, it has always been very difficult for the opponent to figure out that what they think is her back hand is really her forehand.

Badminton is also very much a mind-game. You need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent as you play. Achini says that usually when she looks at the way a person walks and stands, she can make out what kind of player her opponent is.

In Sri Lanka badminton is fast gaining National and International recognition. That they even ‘went on various International coaching camps and have won gold medals for the doubles at the Asian Junior Championships in 2008 is because of the interest and support that the new President of the Sri Lanka Badminton Association Ranjith de Silva has shown’ says Achini.

Achini is the Under 17 National Age group Triple Crown champion as well. (Winner of singles, doubles and mixed doubles) and is sponsored by Yonex with regard to her racquets and shoes. However, in Sri Lanka, playing badminton alone cannot take you far in life. ‘Studies are very important’ says young Achini.

‘I would love to play in the Olympics and World Championships but my O levels loom in the horizon. I do want to get a gold medal at the SAAF Games in February in Bangladesh. But as I am young and inexperienced, maybe I may not do so but that does not deter me. I will use this experience well till I can get a gold medal for my country. I will watch the other countries play and see if and how they are better’ says Achini determinedly.

She knows that she has to do well in her O levels and then Advanced levels. She does not have a mobile phone and does not watch TV. She wants to become an accountant but is keen to get a gold medal in a world championship before she settles down to a regular life of making a living. Badminton has taught her modesty and gratitude. Most of all gratitude to those including her Principal, teachers, coaches and parents who have helped her achieve National status.

Achini is very unlike the unscrupulous ‘I must win come what may’ sportsman with a killer instinct that one usually sees in a young person who has become the Number One.

(www.dailynews.lk)