Spirited shuttlers assured gold and silvers

13th South Asian Games

Sri Lankan shuttlers are assured a Gold and Silver medal as the Women’s Doubles teams created history by becoming the first two sides to compete against each other in an all-Sri Lanka final, after four semi-final games at the Badminton Competition of the 13th South Asian Games in Pokhara, Nepal yesterday. 

Women’s Doubles badminton players Thilini Hendehewa, Kavidi Sirimannage, Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika created the landmark occurrence of two teams competing against each other in a final of a SAG competition. 

The two Lankan Women’s Doubles teams took very little trouble in outdoing the much-fancied Indian pairs, which came as welcome news for a squad that had to face unforeseen odds, besides the cold weather and appalling conditions.  Thilini Hendehewa and Kavidi Sirimannage paired up as a unit to beat Meghana Jakkampudi and Sikki Reddy of India in straight sets while Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika, the other Lankan Women’s pair, beat India’s Kuhoo Grag and Anoushka Parikh, also in straight sets, to book a berth in the final where they will counter each other with sportsmanship and camaraderie.

Sri Lanka Men’s Doubles unit of Sachin Dias and Buwaneka Goonathilake and the Mixed Doubles pair of Sachin Dias and Thilini Hendehewa will also feature in finals. The two teams are highly confident of clinching Gold medals, and are in good spirits to face their ultimate challenge in raising Sri Lanka’s Gold medal count to three.

“We had a very successful day on Thursday, we have four Doubles teams competing in three finals and in one of those in the Women’s Doubles final, a Gold and a Silver are already assured. It would be a first such thing takes place, to have the players from the same country to play against each other in a final at a SAG. We have won a Gold medal at SAG previously, but our intention is to finish off with a total of three Golds. The players are very eager to see that happens for the country,” the elated SAG Badminton team manager Thilak Jayasiri stated.

But Sri Lanka had to face a few unexpected blows after three of their seasoned campaigners – Men’s skipper Dinuka Karunaratne, Women’s skipper Achini Ratnasiri and Women’s Singles player Dilmi Dias – were forced to bow out of the semi-finals.

“It was a shocker to all of us. We never expected that to happen, we knew these are players with high talent. It broke down our ambition of claiming the required number of Gold medals. But we still have the prospect of finishing off with three medals. We are totally focused on that now,” Jayasiri added.

Both Achini Ratnasiri and Dilmi Dias lost to Indian counterparts Ashmita Chaila and Gayathri Gopichand in the Women’s Singles semi-final, but are guaranteed Bronze medals. The Women’s Singles final will now become an all-Indian affair.

Dinuka Karunaratne, who lost his battle to India’s Siril Warma in straight sets, will also receive a Bronze medal, as the Indian is set to face fellow countryman Aryaman Tandon in another final between compatriots. 

Sachin Dias and Buwaneka Goonathilake will meet Indian pair Krishna Prasad and Dhruv Kapila in the Men’s Doubles finals today, after defeating Nepal’s Prince Dahal and Pawan Maharjan in the semi-final in straight sets. Sachin Dias will have a double outing today, after his game partnered with Goonathilake, as he pairs up with Thilini Hendehewa to take on Indian pair Dhruv Kapila and Meghana Jakkampudi in the Mixed Doubled final. Dias and Hendehewa comfortably defeated Salman Khan and Urmi Akter of Bangladesh in the semi-final. The finals will be played today from 11.00 a.m at the Covered Hall in Pokhara, followed by the awards ceremony. 

Semi-final results

Women’s Singles: Ashmita Chalia (Ind) beat Achini Ratnasiri (SL) 2-0 (21-5, 21-7); Gayathri Gopichanda (Ind) beat Dilmi Dias (SL) 2-0 (21-17, 21-14)

Men’s Doubles: Sachin Dias and Buwaneka Goonathilake (SL) beat Prince Dahal and Pawan Maharjan (Nep) 2-0 (21-11, 21-19); Krishna Prasad and Dhruv Kapila (Ind) beat Mohammed Atique and Mohammed Hasnjin (Pak) 2-0 (21-15, 21-7)

Women’s Doubles: Thilini Hendehewa and Kavidi Sirimannage (SL) beat Meghana Jakkampudi and Sikki Reddy (Ind) 2-0 (21-14, 21-18); Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika (SL) beat Kuhoo Grag and Anoushka Parikh (Ind) 2-0 (21-10, 21-18) Men’s Singles: Aryaman Tandon (Ind) beat Ratanjit Tamang (Nep) 2-1 (21-18, 14-21, 21-18); Siril Warma (Ind) beat Dinuka Karunaratne (SL) 2-0 (21-9, 21-12)

Mixed Doubles: Dhruv Kapila and Meghana Jakkampudi (Ind) beat Bikash Shresta and Anu Maya Rai (Nep) 2-0 (21-14, 21-13); Sachin Dias and Thilini Hendehewa (SL) beat Salman Khan and Urmi Akter (Ban) 2-0 (21-8, 21-9)