Tournament top seeds Shenuk Samararatne and Rashmi Mudalige were crowned the winners of the Eastern Province Badminton Association (EPBA) All-Island Open Badminton Championships, which concluded at the WABER Indoor Stadium in Batticaloa on Monday. Coming straight from his successful campaign at the Northern Province Open last week, Shenuk continued his fine form to clinch the Open Men’s Singles title, beating second seed Thilina Rajakaruna in straight sets, while in a contrasting affair Rashmi overcame Panchali Adhikari by 2-1 to earn her title as the Open Women’s Singles champion.
Shenuk had his second successful campaign completed, both with unbeaten records, as he beat Thilina by 21/12 and 21/18 to annex his second domestic title this season, in two successive outings, while Rashmi had a starve off a vengeful battle from Panchali to earn one of her two crowns at the EPBA Open. Rashmi easily snatched the first set 21-14, but Panchali bounced back to equalize the game by winning the second set 21/18 pushing the excitement to the decisive setter. Eventually, after a close fight, Rashmi claimed the win by 21/18, after winning the Open Women’s Doubles partnering with Varangana Jayawardana earlier on.
Rashmi and Varangana put a complete stall to the successful run of international medal winning pair Isuri Attanayake and Sithumi de Silva in the Open Women’s Doubles by claiming a straight win, after pummeling their opponents 21/13 and 21/16. Oshamika Karunarathna and Thulith Palliyaguru paired up to beat Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga in straight sets to claim the Open Men’s Doubles title with set scores of 21/16 and 21/19.
Thulith then partnered with Panchali Adhikari to claim the Open Mixed Doubles title, his double crown, after claiming an absorbing final by 2-1, where the winners claimed the first and third sets by 21/17 and 21/17, after narrowly losing the second set 20/22 to finalists Thilina Rajakaruna and Nethmi Ratnayake.
Thidasa Irushika overcame Reshan Dimbukkuwalage 2-1 to clinch the Boy’s Under-19 Singles title while Ranumi Manage had a comfortable run to beat Thiseja Herath in straight sets to clinch the Girl’s Singles title. Sanuda Ariyasinghe and Thisath Rupathunga had very little trouble in beating Haneesha Kulathunga and Dhanushkha Sandaruwan by straight sets to clinch the Boys’ Doubles title. Ranumi claimed her double crown of this category after partnering with Dilni Ambalangodage to topple Methuli Nawaratne and Minusha Bandara in straight sets to claim the Girls’ Doubles title.
Keneth Aruggoda earned a double crown in the Under-17 category winning the Boy’s Singles and Doubles titles without much fuss. He overcame Wedhaka Gomes in straight set to clinch the Boy’s Singles title, after claiming the Doubles title partnering with Dinew Wimalarathna to beat Anuga Perera and Buddhi Shenal in straight sets. Dulanya Karunarathna experienced a tough battle from Sithuli Ranasinghe before winning the Girl’s Singles title by 2-1, while Isuri Attanayake and Sithumi de Silva beat Thenuki de Silva and Ralindi Umagiliya in straight sets to clinch the Girls’ Doubles title.
Thamindu Fernando and Nithini Sasandhi claimed double crowns in the Under-15 category, winning both the Singles and Doubles titles. Thamindu defeated Senuda Rajapaksa in straight sets to win the Boy’s Singles title, after winning the Doubles title partnering with Senuda Rajapaksa to beat Harindu Damsara and Sanuth Palangasinghe in straight sets. Nithini Sasandhi beat Manuli Methara in straight sets to win the Girl’s Singles title after claiming the Girls’ Doubles title partnering with the losing Singles finalist to beat Sayuni Kulasuriya and Limandi Bandara 2-1.
The EPBA All-Island Open Badminton Championships, attracted over 480 shuttlers who competed during five days at the Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) National Ranking Level 1 competition. Organised and conducted by the Eastern Province Badminton Association (EPBA) from January 23rd to 27th, the tournament was sponsored by Mobil, Li Ning, McFoil, 3M, GAC and FIMA.
Results of all finals
Open Men’s Singles: Shenuk Samararatne beat Thilina Rajakaruna 2-0 (21/12, 21/18)
Open Women’s Singles: Rashmi Mudalige beat Panchali Adhikari 2-1 (21/14, 18/21, 21/18)
Open Men’s Doubles: Oshamika Karunarathna/Thulith Palliyaguru beat Sanuda Ariyasinghe/Thisath Rupathunga 2-0 (21/16, 21/19)
Open Women’s Doubles: Varangana Jayawardana/Rashmi Mudalige beat Isuri Attanayake/Sithumi de Silva 2-0 (21/13, 21/16)
Open Mixed Doubles: Thulith Palliyaguru/Panchali Adhikari beat Thilina Rajakaruna/Nethmi Ratnayaka 2-1 (21/17, 20/22, 21/17)
Boy’s U-19 Singles: Thidasa Irushika beat Reshan Dimbukkuwalage 2-1 (21/14, 16/21, 21/19)
Girl’s U-19 Singles: Ranumi Manage beat Thiseja Herath 2-0 (21/13, 21/15)
Boys’ U-19 Doubles: Sanuda Ariyasinghe/Thisath Rupathunga beat Haneesha Kulathunga/Dhanushkha Sandaruwan 2-0 (21/16, 21/13)
Girls’ U-19 Doubles: Dilni Ambalangodage/Ranumii Manage beat Methuli Nawaratne/Minusha Bandara 2-0 (21/9, 21/9)
Boy’s U-17 Singles: Keneth Aruggoda beat Wedhaka Gomes 2-0 (21/14, 21/18)
Girl’s U-17 Singles: Dulanya Karunarathna beat Sithuli Ranasinghe 2-1 (21/18, 17/21, 21/19)
Boys’ U-17 Doubles: Keneth Aruggoda/Dinew Wimalarathna beat Anuga Perera/Buddhi Shenal 2-0 (21/12, 21/19)
Girls’ U-17 Doubles: Isuri Attanayake/Sithumi de Silva beat Thenuki de Silva/Ralindi Umagiliya 2-0 (21/17, 21/10)
Boy’s U-15 Singles: Thamindu Fernando beat Senuda Rajapaksa 2-0 (21/3, 21/6)
Girl’s U-15 Singles: Nithini Sasandhi beat Manuli Methara 2-0 (21/15, 21/12)
Boys’ U-15 Doubles: Thamindu Fernando/Senuda Rajapaksa beat Harindu Damsara/Sanuth Palangasinghe 2-0 (21/12, 21/8)
Girls’ U-15 Doubles: Manuli Methara/Nithini Sasandhi beat Sayuni Kulasuriya/Limandi Bandara 2-1 (21/16, 13/21, 21/11)
