After his spirited display in the opening Group ‘G’ game of the Paris Olympics 2024 Badminton Men’s Singles competition, Sri Lanka’s young shuttle sensation Viren Nettasinghe is all geared up to take on his next opponent, Spain’s Pablo Abian tomorrow, Tuesday, July 30, at the La Chappelle Arena in Paris.
Nettasinghe’s strong-willed performance against Malaysia’s Zii Jia Lee, the current World No.7 ranked men’s single player, was the talk of the town for the Olympic debutant, who is well set to both physically and mentally to overcome his next group rival, the Spaniard Abian.
Despite losing in straight sets against the Malaysian top-ranked shuttler 2-0, Nettasinghe proved that he is a hard customer to overcome, which promises Sri Lanka of a possible win in tomorrow’s group clash against the current World 62nd-ranked Spanish shuttler.
Abian, 39, is known as a well-experienced Men’s Singles campaigner, but Nettasinghe possesses the possibility of raking in a crucial win. The second Group ‘G’ game between Nettasinghe and Abian is scheduled for tomorrow at 12:00 noon local time, approximately 3:30 pm Sri Lanka time. Only the top player of each group will advance to the Round of 16 at the Paris Games.
On Sunday, Nettasinghe met Malaysian Zii Jia Lee in a game that was expected to become a one-sided affair, but the 20-year-old Sri Lankan provided the unexpected to the seasoned top-ranked shuttler before going down fighting. The young prodigy, making his Olympic debut as the youngest ever shuttler to earn a direct qualification to the Paris Games 2024, never made it easy to the experienced Malaysian shuttler.
Nettasinghe made promising starts in both sets, earning early leads to cause initial trouble against his much-experienced Malaysian rival, who clinically countered the spirited Sri Lankan, thwarting a possible victory.
Nettasinghe, Sri Lanka’s current top-ranked shuttler proved an almost match to Malaysian Lee, who was well contained during the start of both sets. He made a dream start to gain the first couple of points against the current seventh-ranked player in the world in the first set, but with his experience, Zii Jia Lee outsmarted Nettasinghe comprehensively. Eventually, the first set ended in favour of Malaysia’s Lee, who claimed a 21-14 win against the spirited Sri Lankan youngster.
The fighting spirit of the young Sri Lankan was more evident in the second set though he went down fighting 12-21, conceding a straight win to the much-experienced Malaysian. Nettasinghe put the first points on board and came neck-to-neck against Lee, as the second set was locked at 8-all at one stage. But the seasoned Malaysian shuttler made use of his experience as a top world shuttler to shun down all efforts made by the spirited Nettasinghe, currently ranked 70th in the world. Eventually, Lee went well ahead of Nettasinghe to claim a resounding 21-12 win, sealing the first Group ‘G’ game in straight sets.
On Friday, Nettasinghe carried the National flag at the opening ceremony held on the picturesque River Seine, as he made his Olympic debut as the youngest shuttler to earn a direct qualification to the Olympics.