The Li Ning Sri Lanka International Series 2024 came to an end with Thailand shuttlers earning top honours with a tally of three gold medals and two silver medals while Indonesia and Canada claimed gold medals in addition to Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama pocketing a valuable bronze medal at the Dadella Indoor Stadium in Galle on Sunday.
Thailand won gold medals in the Doubles events – Men’s, Women’s and Mixed – while claiming silver medals in the Women’s and Mixed Doubles events. Indonesia won the gold medal in Women’s Singles while Canada claimed the gold in the Men’s Singles. Malaysia and India pocketed the silver medals in Women’s and Men’s Singles respectively while the silver medal in Men’s Doubles went to Indonesia.
Sri Lanka’s hopes rallied on the two favourites – Viren Nettasinghe and Buwaneka Goonathilake – in the Men’s Singles, but it was Abeywickrama who made steady progress towards the semi-finals with an unbeaten record. Goonathilake made an early exit, even before reaching the knockout stages, but Nettasinghe and Abeywickrama advanced to the quarter-final stage, raising Sri Lanka’s hopes of a possible medal in the Men’s Singles at the Sri Lanka Badminton organized second international competition sanctioned by Badminton World Federation and Badminton Asia to be staged in the island nation.
After Nettasinghe crashed out against finalist Xiaodong Sheng of Canada in the quarterfinals, the focus was on Abeywickrama, who easily advanced to the semi-final after overcoming Indian Tharun Mannepalli in straight sets. But he had to face defeat at the hands of finalist Rahul Bharadway after a close semi-final clash in which both sets went down to the wire, as Abeywickrama, ranked 91 globally, secured the bronze in Men’s Singles, earning Sri Lanka’s only medal at the prestigious event.
Unseeded Ziaodong Sheng of Canada secured the gold medal in Men’s Singles after overcoming Rahul Bharadwaj of India 2-1 in a tensed final that spanned nearly an hour and a half. After conceding the first set 10/21, Sheng bounced back to overcome Bharadwaj, winning both sets to follow 21/19 and 22/20 after a great battle, pushing the Indian to a silver medal finish.
Indonesia’s Ruzana Ruzana defeated Siti Zulaikha of Malaysia to earn the gold medal in the Women’s Singles with a straight win in a game that lasted almost an hour. Ruzana won both sets 21/19 and 21/15 to hand Zulaikha her only loss on the way to the final as she settled in for the silver medal.
Thailand pair Sirawat Sothon and Natthapat Trinkajee recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory over Reza Dwicahya Purnama and Rian Canna Varo of Indonesia to clinch the gold medal of the Men’s Doubles event. The top seed Thai pair won the final in straight sets — 21/19 and 21/7 – to defeat the Indonesian pair, who claimed the silver medal.
In an absorbing Women’s Doubles final, where two pairs from Thailand competed Pichamon Phatcharaphisutsin and Nannapas Sukklad bounced back to record a convincing 2-1 win against Prinda Pattanawaritthipan and Atitaya Povanon and claim the gold medal. After conceding the first set to the eventual silver medalists, the top seed pair easily countered the two remaining sets with ease to pocket the gold medal.
In an all-Thailand final, Phatharathorn Nipornram and Nattamon Laisuan paired up to beat compatriots Neuaduang Mangkornloi and Atitaya Povanonin straight sets to claim the gold medal in the Mixed Doubles. Nipornram and Laisuan were no match to their opponents, who were forced to walk out with the silver medal.
Over 200 shuttlers from 14 countries competed in this 6-day event where the Additional Director General of Department of Sports Development,Mr. Rohana de Silva graced the awards presentation ceremony as the chief guest. Sri Lanka Badminton President, Mr. Rohan de Silva and its top officials also were present to give away awards.
The LiNing Sri Lanka International Series followed the successful LiNing Sri Lanka Challenge held last week at the same venue and offered a total prize pool of $5,000 for the winners. The tournament, one of the two elite international events hosted by Sri Lanka Badminton, was sponsored by LiNing, Mobil, GAC, 3M, and McFoil.
Final Results:
- Men’s Singles: Xiaodong Sheng (Can) beat Rahul Bharadwaj (Ind) 2-1 (10/21, 21/19, 22/20)
- Semi-finals: Xiaodong Sheng (Can) beat Saran Jamsri (Tha) 2-0 (21/16, 21/18); Rahul Bharadwaj (Ind) beat Dumindu Abeywickrama (Sri) 2-0 (21/19, 23/21)
- Women’s Singles:Ruzana Ruzana (Indo) beat Siti Zulaikha (Mas) 2-0 (21/19, 21/15)
- Semi-finals: Siti Zulaikha (Mas) beat Chiara Marvella Handoyo (Indo) 2-1 (21/13, 15/21, 21/14); Ruzana Ruzana (Indo) beat Deswanti Hujansih Nurtertiati (Indo) 2-0 (21/17, 21/15)
- Men’s Doubles: Sirawat Sothon/Natthapat Trinkajee (Tha) beat Reza Dwicahya Purnama/Rian Canna Varo (Indo) 2-0 (21/19, 21/7)
- Semi-finals: Sirawat Sothon/Natthapat Trinkajee (Tha) beat Narut Saengkham/Pannawat Theerapanitniun (Tha) 2-0 (21/9, 24/22); Reza Dwicahya Purnama/Rian Canna Varo (Indo) beat Fauzan Hamba/Adam Putra Wahyu (Indo) 2-0 (21/14, 24/22)
- Women’s Doubles: Pichamon Phatcharaphisutsin/Nannapas Sukklad Prinda (Tha) beat Pattanawaritthipan/Atitaya Povanon (Tha) 2-1 (13/21, 21/16, 21/14)
- Semi-finals: Pichamon Phatcharaphisutsin/Nannapas Sukklad (Tha) beat Rakshitha Santhosh Ramraj/Shriyanshi Valishetty (Ind) 2-1 (14/21, 21/17, 24/22); Prinda Pattanawaritthipan/Atitaya Povanon (Tha) beat Prerana Alvekar/Mrunmayee Deshpande (Ind) 2-0 (21/19, 21/11)
- Mixed Doubles: Phatharathorn Nipornram/Nattamon Laisuan (Tha) beat Neuaduang Mangkornloi/Atitaya Povanon (Tha) 2-0 (21/11, 21/12)
- Semi-finals: Neuaduang Mangkornloi/Atitaya Povanon (Tha) beat Bhargav Ram Arigela/Pragati Parida (Ind) 2-0 (21/16, 21/17); Phatharathorn Nipornram/Nattamon Laisuan (Tha) beat Chayanit Joshi/Kavya Gupta (Ind) 2-1 (11/21, 21/19, 21/17)
