Shenuk and Vidara claim Summer Season Singles titles
Shenuk Samararatne and Vidara Suhasni Vidanage clinched the men’s and women’s singles titles of the Summer Season All-Island Open Badminton Championship, which concluded at the Municipal Council Indoor Courts in Nuwara Eliya.
Samararatne overcame Thenuka Sathsara de Silva 2-1 in a closely contested men’s singles final, as both competitors eagerly battled to claim the plum of the open category main event. After claiming the first set 21-11, Shenuk was forced to delay his victory march as Thenuka bounced back to claim the second set 21-13. This left to an interesting battle in the crucial third set, where both shuttlers played their hearts out, but eventually Shenuk emerged victorious 22-20, as he walked out the winner after a grueling battle.
Vidanage, on the other hand, faced an early scare in the women’s singles final against Jananuwani Amanda de Silva, but she managed to claim a straight 2-0 win. After an early setback, Vidanage bounced back to claim both sets by 21-10 and 21-11, sealing a comfortable victory in the main event for women in the Open category.
Thenuka Sathsara de Silva, who lost the vital men’s singles final, paired up with Tharusha Madhubhanu to claim the men’s doubles title, after the duo displayed a commanding style of play to emerge victorious 2-0. After a close first set, where Thenuka and Tharusha overcame their opponents, Hansa de Silva and Yohan Bandara 21-18, the victors marched forward with an easy 21-10 win in the second set to claim the win.
Amanda de Silva, who faced a setback in the women’s singles final, paired up with Nilasi Balasuriya to annex the women’s doubles final in straight sets against Buthmi Galagamage and Nadeesha Gayathri. They easily claimed the first set 21-12, but were given a good fight-back by the losers before the victorious pair sealed the final with a 21-17 win in the second set.
Marcello Mainaky and Buthmi Galagamage teamed up to claim the mixed doubles title of the Open category, as they marched towards an easy 2-0 straight win against Thenuka Sathsara de Silva and Samidi Onel Sathnara in the final. The winning pair had very little trouble in sealing the win, with 21-10 and 21-14 wins in both sets.
In addition to claiming the open men’s singles title, Samararatne claimed an age category title when he overcame Thesath Semika Rajapakse 2-1 in the Under-19 boys’ singles final. Shenuk made an early inroad towards his victory path by claiming the first set 21-19 after a close battle, but he conceded the second set 19-21 as the game was leveled at 1-all with a crucial set to come. Shenuk put out his full energy in the final crucial set and thrashed his opponent 21-9 to seal a much deserved victory and a double crown.
Kethnara Kumarapperuma too had to put her full energy at work before she claimed a well deserving 2-1 win against Rukshika Baskaran in the Under-19 girls’ singles final. After a close first set, which ended in favour of Komuthu 21-19, Rukshika bounced back to claim the second set 21-18 and level the sets. But the determined youngster Komuthu bounced back to trounce her opponent 21-10 in the final set to claim the win in style.
Achintha Imesha and Pasindu Mihiranga Peiris recorded a straight 2-0 win against Sehandu Thewmika Peiris and Thesath Semika Rajapakse in the Under-19 boys’ doubles final. The winners marched towards victory after claiming the sets 21-12 and 21-17.
The annual event conducted by the Central Province Badminton Association, in collaboration with Sri Lanka Badminton, saw leading local shuttlers of all age groups competing in Open, Junior, Senior and Combined Age categories. The Summer Season All-Island Open Badminton Championship was sponsored by McFoil, Mobil, LiNing, 3M and GAC.
