“I played cricket for my school in under-15 division 1 tournament and our team emerged all-island champions. My father was in England at that time. But since his return after a stint in England, I was concentrating on badminton and opted to master that sport,” Karunaratne told the Daily News.
Karunaratne is raring to come out with another sensational performance when he competes in the men’s singles event at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The 31-year-old ‘king’ in local men’s badminton has made a vast improvement in recent times under his South Korean coach Kim Young Man.
It was the same coach who trained Karunaratne in Poland during his lead up to the last Olympic Games in London four years ago. Another proud product of Royal College, Karunaratne had the rare honour of becoming the overall captain of the Sri Lanka contingent for the last Olympics and sprang one of the biggest surprises at the London 2012 Games’ badminton competition.
He humbled eight-seeded Kenichi Tago of Japan in the first round of the men’s singles 21-18, 21-16 – the best performance by a Lankan shuttler in Olympic history. Thus Karunaratne had the honour of making it to the pre-quarter finals where he was knocked out by India’s Parupalli Kashyap after a fighting performance 14-21, 21-15, 9-21.
Impressed by the South Korean coach’s efforts, Karunaratne has retained his services – this time under home conditions. “Unlike for the last Olympics, I have been training in Sri Lanka for Rio 2016 Games and personally hired my previous coach who has worked hard with me for the London Games,” he said.
“I have improved a lot since the last Olympics. Since my appearance at the London 2012, I have beaten many top players. I am in good shape, making the ideal preparations for my second Olympic Games,” he said.
“I am in much better shape now, compared to where I was when I made my Olympic debut in 2012. I have played the longest match in world badminton for the past 20 years, beating Finland’s No. 1 Ville Lang,” he said.
The 14-time Sri Lanka national champion in men’s singles has been in the international circuit since he was 18, beating many top ranked players. Unfortunately, he has not been fortunate enough to win a major championship in recent times, although he has come closer to winning international titles in Australia, Wales, Belgium and Iran.
Nevertheless, he has proved his might by beating some top shuttlers in international tournaments in Miami, Puerto Rico, Wales, Iran and Uganda.
He had come across top ranked players from Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, England and Wales in the above tournaments.
Karunaratne, born on February 13, 1985 in Galle, took to badminton at the age of eight years like a duck taking to water, following the footsteps of his father Louvie Karunaratne, a former national level champion and a veteran coach. “My father took me to witness some matches and even coaching sessions for his players when I was very young. That made badminton my passion from an early age,” he said.
Only a year after making his debut in major competitions, Karunaratne won the Amazon Circuit, showing early signs of a champion in the making. It will be a Herculean task for anybody to better Karunaratne’s record of becoming national men’s single champion for 14 year. He has won the national singles title for nine consecutive years, bettering Ravi Kuruppu’s record of six times.
“I know that I am both mentally and physically fit for the challenge ahead. I want to make use of every opportunity that comes my way and Olympics are no exception but a very special moment in my career. My aim is the make my presence felt and spring a surprise as I did the last time. I know I could do something, something special for my country,” he added.
The recent banning of the Sri Lanka Badminton Association by the world governing body over a constitutional dispute (a few other national bodies in other sports too suffered the same fate) prevented Karunaratne from playing for Sri Lanka in several major international tournaments.
As a result, his international ranking in world men’s singles has dropped drastically from 34th to 93rd.
Nevertheless, Karunaratne has not been starved of international competition. He found entry to several top tournaments at which he came across several top-ranked players in the world circuit.
Asked what his plans would be after the Olympic Games, the champion shuttler said he wishes to remain in the international circuit for a few more years. “I will continue to play for the country, I have a few more years left in my career and would make every effort to make my country proud,” he said.
The winner of the Royal Crown at his alma mater for his outstanding performance as a champion badminton player, Karunaratne said he has been training hard over the past several months, focusing fully on his second Olympic appearance.
“It is a tough task ahead. But I am geared to face the challenge. I will definitely make my presence felt in Rio,” said the overall captain of the Sri Lanka contingent for the last London 2012 Games. “There are no short cuts in becoming a badminton champion. Hard work and dedication is the art, as in any other sport. You cannot produce a champion overnight and there are no instant recipes. It takes at least five years of hard training to become a national badminton champion,” was Karunaratne’s advice to those taking to the sport.
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