Will Chandrika overcome Olympian Thilini?

56th Badminton Nationals from today:

Chinthana WASALA

The 56th National Badminton Championships conducted by the Sri Lanka Badminton Association will commence today at the Royal College Sports Complex.

The three Karunaratne Brothers, Niluka, Diluka and Dinuka will be among the top contenders in the men’s category while the first ever woman shuttler to represent Sri Lanka at Olympics Thilini Sudhara Jayasinghe and the former champion Renu Chandrika de Silva will also be vying for top honours.

The events that will be worked off are, men and women singles and doubles, mixed doubles, men’s veterans singles and doubles, masters singles and masters doubles.

The important men’s singles event has attracted a total of 90 competitors including the defending champion Niluka Karunaratne who will be aiming for an unique triple crown.

In fact, Karunaratne is the top seed in the men’s singles, followed by his brother Diluka Karunaratne and Nuwan Hettiarachchi who are ranked number two and three respectively.

The experienced Niluka Karunaratne is seeded number 8 in the men’s doubles tournament together with partner Ramindu Ranasinghe.

Two former National champions Niroshan Wijekoon and Thushara Edirisinghe are the top seeds in the men’s doubles followed by the combination of Nuwan Dananjaya and Dharshana Hettiarachchi.

Niluka Karunaratne is ranked number two in the mixed doubles along with his partner, Chandrika de Silva who is also the top seed in the women’s singles.

The defending champion is certain to receive stiff opposition from Thilini Jayasinghe who is the bottom seed in the women’s singles. Incidentally Chandrika de Silva is also in contention for a triple crown and will compete in the women’s doubles.

Ceylon Heavy Industries and Construction Co. ltd. (CHICO) together with Sri Lanka Telecom and Yonex Sunrise, Singapore are sponsoring this year’s tournament.

The nationals will be on a knockout basis while there will be a Plate event for the losers in the men’s and women’s singles events. The winners and runners-up will receive valuable cash awards.