Sri Lanka badminton ace Viren Nettasinghe will be the top seed at the upcoming CM Trophy India International Challenge set to take place in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, from October 31 to November 5.
Nettasinghe leads a 64-player Men’s Singles draw released by the organisers of the event, Chhattisgarh Badminton Association.
It is noteworthy that Nettasinghe, who recently represented the country at the Hangzhou Asian Games, is the first and only Sri Lankan player to be seeded at the top of a draw at an international tournament.
The main draw of the CM Trophy India International Challenge includes seven other international players, while another Sri Lankan player Madhuka Dulanjana is set to compete in the qualifying round.
Top seed Nettasinghe will take on India’s Siddant Salar in his opening match, while Dulanjana will face India’s Sarath Dunna in the first round of the qualifying stage.
Dulanjana, meanwhile, will team up with Lahiru Weerasinghe in the Men’s Doubles qualifying stage, where they will take on Indian pair of Chaitanya Reddy and Sravanth Sai Suri.
The CM Trophy India International Challenge, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation as well as Badminton Asia, offers a total prize pool of $15,000 and is one of the key international tournaments in the Indian badminton calendar.