Year-end review badminton
Sri Lanka’s badminton whipped up a lot of controversy this year, but despite the gloom there were many moments to remember, thanks to the efforts of the players.
Leave alone the controversy, there was so much good news that badminton generated, but much of the information about these achievements, strangely, weren’t given to the media.
SLBF President Parakrama Basnayake affirmed that this was perhaps the most successful year at badminton with the country winning eight gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals. He believes no other discipline can match this rich haul of medals won by the badminton players this year (2011).
The players had plenty of tours, but how selections were made and the large numbers that got to represent the country came in for questioning by the badminton fraternity. Most of the tours that were approved by the Sri Lanka Badminton Federation (SLBF) came in for severe criticism because of the large contingents which were sent to represent the country, giving scant regard to the fact that only the best should represent the nation.
As a result, so many Sri Lankans made first round exits at international tournaments and squandered hard earned finances of sponsors, the sports ministry or well-wishers. In economics there is a saying, ‘there is no free meal. Someone has to pay for it’.
In this negative environment it was heartening to see schoolgirls Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika Weerasinghe shine above all in bringing glory to the country through their exploits in the international badminton scene. The pair won gold medals at the Iran Fajir International and the Bangladesh International Series, but the moment to remember came at the Youth commonwealth Games (Isle of Man) when the duo bagged the bronze medal for Sri Lanka.
Men’s singles national champion Niluka Karunaratne shrugged off a year to forget, which was last year, and showed he was ready to continue in top gear after the suspension on him was lifted.
He was a force in all domestic tournaments and once again underscored the fact that competition in the Sri Lankan men’s circuit has to be revved up if improvement is to be seen in this division. The men’s division at home was dominated by Niluka and his brother Dinuka. Hence the guarded stroke play between them failed to generate spectator interest whenever they met in the men’s singles finals in domestic competitions.
Karunaratne (Senior) added more feathers to his cap when he won the men’s singles gold at the Bill Graham Miami International (USA), Yonex Welsh International and the Puerto Rico International Challenge this year.
Sri Lanka’s veteran badminton player Renu Chandrika de Silva has reached a crossroads this year where she has to decide whether she will play in the veterans or the women’s open singles. Her gold medal winning feat at the World Senior Badminton Championships (2011) saw Sri Lanka irrupt in joy. This is also a time for her to reflect on her career and judge for herself whether she should pursue tournaments in the ‘veterans’ event, a segment which bears all signs that she’s on the right track.
But then again, like Niluka, Chandrika too has Olympic dreams and chasing them would force her to play alongside the younger aged players and also contest women’s open singles events at international tournaments. A banker by profession, Chandrika must take a right decision regarding her future because still, as we know, its players like her who keep the present generation of players on their toes in the women’s segment at home.
Olympian Thilini Jayasinghe participated in many international events, but her form at these events didn’t complement her lofty ambitions in badminton. She could manage just a silver medal (Mixed doubles at the Bangladesh International Series) and a bronze medal in the women’s singles at the Zimbabwe International Series. At this juncture, we watch with interest as Jayasinghe battles to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
Another player who caught the eyes of fans was young Thilini Hendahewa who made the women’s singles final at the nationals and went down fighting to Ratanasiri.
The badminton federation came in for praise for appointing an official coach in Dhanushka Fernando for badminton.
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