Shenuk Samararatne and Rashmi Bhagya claimed top honours of the PDBA All-Island Open Badminton Championship, which concluded at the Alfred F. Peiris Indoor Stadium in Wennappuwa last Thursday. Organised and conducted by the Puttalam District Badminton Association (PDBA), an active affiliate of Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), the week-long tournament drew top shuttlers from across the island as Samararatne and Bhagya emerged the best out of the rest.
Samararatne claimed the Men’s Open Singles title, while Bhagya comfortably made her way to the end and annex the Women’s Open Singles championship. Samararatne defeated Thilina Rajakaruna in a three-setter final after locking at 1-1 after two sets. After claiming the first set 21-19, Samararatne was shocked by Rajakaruna who bounced back with an identical 21-19 win to equalize. However, top seed Samararatne bounced back to hand Rajakaruna a 21-16 defeat and seal the final 2-1 to claim the Men’s Open Singles title.
Bhagya, on the other hand, had an easy outing against Jananuwani Amanda de Alwis in clinching the Women’s Open Singles title, by a comfortable 2-0, as she won both sets 21-11 and 21-17. She went on to claim a double title, partnered by Varangana Jayawardena, to win the Women’s Doubles title. Bhagya and Jayawardena eased past Nisali Balasuriya and Jananuwani de Alwis in the final to record a straight 21-16 and 21-7 win.
Madhuka Dulanjana and Lahiru Madushan Weerasinghe paired up to record a straight win against Roshan Padma Kumara and Supun Lakranga Priyantha to claim the Men’s Doubles title with set wins of 21-17 and 21-16. Weerasinghe made it up to earn a double title, after he paired up Irushi Amandi to record a straight 21-14 and 21-14 win as they defeated the pair of Vidoo Liyanage and Nisali Balasuriya in the final of the Mixed Doubles.
Thilina Rajakaruna made it up to his loss in the Men’s Open Singles, as he bounced back to record a 2-1 win against Reshan Harith Dimbukkuwalage to claim the Boy’s Under-19 Singles title. After suffering a close 20-22 loss in the opening set, following an enthralling battle, Rajakaruna bounced back to claim the following two sets 21-15 and 21-13 to walk away with the silverware.
Sandathi Dewmini annexed the Girls’ Under-19 Singles championship following an explicit display against Rukshika Baskaran in the final. She recorded a straight win of 21-13 and 21-13 on the way to the title.
Rithira Abaygunawardena and Thenuk Ransaja Ganewatta paired up to defeat Achinthya Imesha and Pasindu Peiris in the Boy’s Under-19 Doubles final with a 2-1 win. The winning pair claimed the first set 21-19, only to be challenged in the following set, which went in favour of their opponents 21-18. However they sealed an early win by claiming the decisive third set 21-14 to claim the title.
Senuth Perera won the Boy’s Under-17 Singles championship, by defeating Yoshitha Silve in straight sets 21-16 and 21-12, while Vishwanie Wanniarachchi easily overcame Ralindi Umagiliya in straight sets, 21-15 and 21-14 to claim the Girls’ Under-17 Singles title.
Aabid Hussain teamed up with Rashmitha Kodikara to win the Boy’s Under-17 Doubles championship, defeating Duvinya Jayakody and Raniru Vishuddha in straight sets, 21-12 and 21-19, while the Girls’ Doubles title was won by Thisuri Gunawardena and Luckshana Sajeewakumar, who went on to record a comfortable 21-18 and 21-13 win against Isuri Attanayake and Sithumi de Silva in the final.
The Level 2 ranking tournament, sanctioned by SLB, was held under Junior, Senior, Over-110 Combined age category, as well as under Open and Plate segments. The organisers, Puttalam District Badminton Association, offered a handsome cash reward to winners and runners-up, in addition to trophies, medals and certificates.