Southern Stars top the table to storm to semis

Southern Stars, led by Sachin Dias, topped the table as semi-finalists of the inaugural Li Ning – Lanka Shuttle Challenge 2020 (LSC 2020), the country’s first high-profile franchise-based badminton tournament, were decided yesterday.

At the Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) and Mercantile Badminton Association (MBA) courts in Colombo, Western Warriors led by Kavidi Sirimanage, Central Crusaders captained by Buwaneka Gunetileke, and Island Titans under the captaincy of Olympian Dinuka Karunaratne, also made it to the last-four stage.

The Eastern Eagles led by Dilmi Dias, and Northern Knights captained by Niluka Karunaratne, were eliminated.

Leaders Southern Stars was the only unbeaten side to reach the semi-finals after impressive wins in their respective men’s and women’s singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and boys’ and girls’ singles. They beat all five of their opponents while Western Warriors won four encounters to finished second in the standings. Central Crusaders won three while Island Titans defeated two opponents.

The Southern Stars face Western Warriors in their semi-final today. Organised by SLB, the five-day event features six franchises of 12 players, a first in the history of badminton in Sri Lanka, adding glamour, and has set the precedent for an annual event each year.

The tournament is supported by the Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Health as SLB has put together a robust protocol to adhere to MOH guidelines to ensure the safety of players, officials and spectators.

Li Ning is the SLB Corporate as well as Title Sponsor of the LSC 2020 and will bring a largesse of prizes for outstanding performances. The champions will receive Rs. 250,000 in prize money.

Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa will be the Chief Guest at the closing ceremony on 20 December and will present the prizes for the champions.