The 70th Senior Nationals and the 38th Junior Nationals, organised by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), kicked off yesterday at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. The week-long tournament will also hold matches at the SLB and the Mercantile Badminton Association courts to accommodate the large number of entries which surpasses 1000 shuttles from all parts of the country.
The tournament brings out the best talent in the country, with a number of leading shuttlers in the country, including Buwaneka Goonathilaka, Sachin Dias, Ranthushka Karunatilleke, Rasindu Hendahewa, Viren Nettasinghe and Dumindu Abeywickrama in the men’s side, as well as Thilini Hendahwa and Kavidi Sirimanage, Nadeesha Gayanthi, Ranithma Liyanage and Varangana Jayawardena in the women’s division.
With the country’s top stars bidding to gain valuable ranking points while a number of up and coming players as well as lesser known future stars gunning for upsets in search of berths in national pools, the tournament is expected to produced mouth-watering contests.
The opening ceremony was held yesterday in the presence of Mr Rohan de Silva, SLB President while Mr Wajid Ali Chaudhry, Chairman at Badminton Asia Development, Committee attended the ceremony as the Chief Guest. On the opening day, the school shuttlers took the to the courts in the first rounds of the 38th Junior Nationals Championship.
