Thilini, Kavindi to compete in Nigeria with eye on Olympics

Thilini Pramodika Hendahewa and Kavindi Sirimanne pose for a photograph with Sri Lanka Badminton President Rohan de Silva and other officials before leaving for Nigeria to take part in the Lagos International Challenge

Two of Sri Lanka’s most prominent young female shuttlers, Thilini Pramodika Hendahewa and Kavindi Sirimanne, left for Nigeria to take part in the Lagos International Challenge, which begins on 24 July. 

Hendahewa, the national women’s singles champion, and her doubles partner Sirimanne will are targeting a ticket to the next Olympics are currently positioned at an impressive 85th in the BWF doubles rankings.

The tour is part of Sri Lanka Badminton’s (SLB) effort to provide maximum exposure to the Lankan shuttlers within the qualification period ahead of the global sports extravaganza which will take place in Tokyo next year. 

According to the plan of SLB, under the leadership of Rohan de Silva, who himself is a veteran badminton player and a keen enthusiast of the sport, eight top Sri Lankan shuttlers will be given opportunities to take part in international events during the said period. The rest of the shuttlers who are eyeing a spot in the Olympics are, Sri Lanka’s ace badminton player Niluka Karunaratne, Dinuka Karunaratne, Sachin Dias and Buwanaka Goonathilake.

The qualification period for the Olympic contenders will end on 26 April next year while the world ranking lists as of 28 April 2020 will be used to allocate 34 individuals for singles and 16 pairs for doubles quota places per gender to the highest ranked athletes, taking into consideration the maximum quota allocation per the National Olympic Committee per event.

The Tokyo Olympic Games will be held from 24 July to 9 August 2020.