Shuttler Niluka
Karunaratne provided Sri Lanka some happy memories to take home after
most of country’s athletes failed to go beyond the first round at the
2012 London Olympics. By Thursday four of the seven Sri Lankan athletes
had completed their events and Niluka was the only player to have
recorded a victory by that stage.
His giant-killing
performance against world number eight was appreciated by a large
gathering of British fans at Wembley Arena badminton courts on Monday.
It was a historic moment for Sri Lanka’s badminton as it was the first
time a Sri Lankan entered the pre quarter final stage in badminton at
Olympics.
As he had predicted before his departure to Poland
for pre Olympics training, Niluka managed to make his presence felt
and proved that the money spent on his many international tours was not
in vain.
"Badminton is not competitive in Sri Lanka. It is
not popular like cricket. To come from such backgrounds and win, you
need lot of exposure outside the country. I have gone the distance I
can with what I got," a contented Karunaratne told journalists after
making a respectful exit from Olympics.
He was eliminated
in the pre quarterfinals by another high ranked player, Parupalli
Kashyap of India. The match showcased that what mattered was experience
at the highest level as Niluka struggled to beat his opponent in a
mind game.
Niluka’s victory sent a strong message across to
various benefactors of sports. Sports Ministry (more than ten million
rupees) his sponsor Rohan de Silva and others invested heavily on
Karunaratne and it helped the athlete reach the highest level without
making just numbers.
Country’s sports need genuine benefactors who could provide its athletes what is needed to achieve success.
Niluka
had the intent which some others lacked. By competing at international
tournaments he not only improved his rankings but also gained valuable
exposure. It is this exposure which is in short supply currently.
Niluka
had an advantage which most of the other badminton players in Sri
Lanka do not get. He had his father, a former badminton player and an
administrator to motivate him. According to badminton analysts his
father’s influence was vital for him to climb up the ranks and also to
get very many international competition and training stints when he was
an active member of the federation.
Niluka’s impressive
performances came at a time when badminton authorities were struggling
to save face. There were allegations that the authorities had been
biased towards its women’s Olympian Thilini Jayasinghe. There were
allegations that the lower ranked badminton player had been promoted
over high ranked players to secure her Olympics spot, a charge denied by
the Federation.
Niluka’s victory has helped the
authorities save face but they have lost some respect due to
allegations and before starting their next campaign to promote a player
for Rio Olympics the badminton authorities will have to put serious
thinking into winning the hearts of all badminton players.
