Favourites Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage claimed double crowns while emerging Open Singles winners at the 72nd National Badminton Championship which concluded at the MCA Indoors Courts in Colombo on Sunday.
Viren claimed the Open Men’s Singles title, while Ranithma pocketed the Open Women’s Singles crown, and both top seed shuttlers paired up to clinch the Mixed Doubles title to complete their double crowns at the eight-day competition organised and conducted by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB). The country’s core domestic badminton event was held at the Mercantile Badminton Association (MBA) Indoor Courts, the Otter Aquatic Club Courts and at the SLB Indoor Courts at Maitland Place in Colombo.
Top favourite Viren Nettasinghe, who created history by becoming the youngest ever Sri Lankan shuttler to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024, had to face a tough opponent in Shenuk Samararatne, but controlled his composure to record a straight win and clinch the Open Men’s Singles title. Viren confronted Shenuk in the first set to record a composed win by 21/10, but in the following set he had to face the unexpected. In the gripping second set, which became a thriller, both shuttlers displayed masterful strokes, but Viren maintained his grip to claim the win by 21/19 and seal the deal, earning a double crown
Sri Lanka’s top seed women’s shuttler, Ranithma Liyanage, after her heroics at the recent international series in Bahrain, continued her form to beat Rashmi Mudalige in straight sets to retain her title at the Nationals recording 21/10 and 21/16 wins. Ranithma has had a decent run against Rashmi in the recent competitions, both home and abroad, and she proved her might by claiming the Open Women’s Singles title for the second year running at the 72nd Badminton Nationals and completed her double crown.
Buwaneka Goonathilake, who claimed a triple crown at last year’s Badminton Nationals, had to settle down with the Open Men’s Doubles title, partnering Jason Homer. Buwaneka and Jason had the best of Shenuk Samararatne and Savinaka Weerasekara in straight sets after claiming wins of 21/14 and 21/16 to emerge Open Double champions.
Varangana Jayawardena and Rashmi Mudalige prevailed over favourites Ranithma Liyanage and Praveena Wijesundara to clinch the Open Women’s Doubles title, after a gripping final that ended in 2-1. Perhaps the standout final out of the five lined up, Varangana and Rashmi thwarted Ranithma from claiming a deserving triple crown at the 72nd Nationals, by sending an early warning in the first set that ended by 21/17 in favour of the eventual winners. However, Ranithma and Praveena bounced back to square the sets, winning the second by 21/19, promising a thrilling finale. The third setter went down to the wire with both sides avenging over the other, and eventually Varangana and Rashmi prevailed by claiming it 24/22 after a keenly contested decider.
The country’s top seed singles players Viren Nettasinghe and Ranithma Liyanage paired up to become a deadly combination as they went on to beat specialists Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari 2-1 to clinch the Open Mixed Doubles title. Viren and Ranithma were given a tough start by Thulith and Panchali, who claimed the first set 21/15, but the in-form young pair made use their recent international experience to outsmart the experienced duo by 21/17 and 21/19 in the following sets to emerge victorious.
The championships featured wide range of events from Under-11 to Under-19 in the Junior category and Over-30 to Over-70 in the Senior category, as well as the Combined age category of 100+, 110+ and 120+. However, the Open events comprising Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, took centre stage at this grand annual event.
A grand prize money of Rs.2 million for all events based on the number of entries were awarded, in addition to trophies, medals and certificates to the winners, runners-up and semi-finalists of each event. Junior winners received appropriate gifts instead of prize money, according to the decision taken by the tournament organisers. Director General of Sports, Rear Admiral (Rtd) Prof. Shemal Fernando presented the trophies to the winners as chief guest alongside President Rohan de Silva and members of SLB. The country’s elite domestic badminton event, conducted in accordance to BWF regulations, was sponsored by Li Ning, McFoil, 3M, GAC and Mobil.