The record breaking Sri Lankan shuttling duo, Buwaneka Goonethilleka and Sachin Dias will have to settle for a 4th place finish in the Men’s Doubles event at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. They suffered defeat at the hands of tournament top seeds Wee Kiong Tan and V Shem Goh of Malaysia, a short while ago.
Commonwealth Games: Shuttlers through to the Quarters
It was a good day for the Sri Lankan Badminton team as they earned their spots in the singles
Buwaneka and Sachin being the first and only Sri Lankans to have made it to a medal deciding match, have been undefeated till this morning. They faced a semi-final loss to Indian pair Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty earlier this morning. After a close battle in the first set and total dominance in the second, the Indians came through 21/18, 21/10 with a one-way ticket to the final.
The Lankan duo were still content with being directed to the Bronze Medal match against an unexpected pair. The top seeds of this year’s Commonwealth Games in the Men’s Doubles, Wee Kiong Tan and V Shem Goh, suffered an undeserving loss in the semi-final to Englad in a three-game setup
Commonwealth Games; Sri Lanka through to a historical semi-final
Buwaneka Goonethilleka and Sachin Dias makes history in Gold Coast Australia as they have shuttled their way through three
The Malaysians dominated throughout, denying their opponents from grabbing momentum of the game at any point, opting to go for quick releases. Numerous unforced errors from the racket of Buwaneka Goonethilleka was used by the Malaysians for their advantage. They attacked Goonethilleka overall and caught him off guard to finish off some splendid shots at net.
Even though the more experienced Malaysians took home the medal; the Sri Lankans will head home with their head held high. They have achieved what no other shuttler has done through the country’s years in the Commonwealth Games. Breaking through the round of 16 was a historical milestone for Sri Lanka Badminton and playing at a medal contention match was the cherry on top.
As the shuttlers journey at the Games draws a close, we at ThePapare.com congratulate Buwaneka Gonnethilleka and Sachin Dias for bringing glory to Sri Lanka.
For more news visit ThePapare.Com
