Sri Lanka’s Hasini Ambalangodage and Hasara Wijayaratne reached the Women’s Doubles final of the South Africa International 2024 Badminton Tournament at the John Tyers Hall at Access Park in Cape Town on Saturday.
Hasini and Hasara, who are currently enjoying a successful series of competitions in the African continent, defeated Vilina Appiah and Tiya Bhurtun of the Mauritius in the semi-final in straight sets to set up the final clash against South Africa’s Amy Ackerman and Deidre Laurens on Sunday evening. The Sri Lankan duo met the same South African pair at the final of the Botswana International 2024 last Sunday, where they emerged victorious and created history for the country.
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The Mauritius pair, Vilina and Tiya, were no match for the marauding Sri Lankans, who dominated both sets in the semi-final clash of the Women’s Doubles as they recorded wins by 21/9 and 21/10, while their opponents in the final, Amy and Deidre, too recorded an inspiring straight win against compatriots Chloe Lai and Yiwen Li with scores of 21/6 and 21/7.
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Earlier on the same day, Hasini and Hasara overcame Deborah Godfrey and Anri Schoonees of South Africa in the quarter-final in straight, setting sight to their second major title within a week after claiming a gold medal in Botswana. The Sri Lankan top ranked Women’s Doubles pair was given a stiff challenge by the South African duo from the outset.
But Hasini and Hasara were resolute in their approach as they steadily changed the momentum of the game towards their favour and claim the sets with scores of 21/16 and 21/15 to reach the semi-final stage. Earlier, in the Round of 16, the Sri Lankan duo recorded an easy straight win against South Africa’s Lydia Godfrey and Yiwen Luo, with set scores of 21/11 and 21/9.
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Last week, Hasini and Hasara clinched the Women’s Doubles gold medal at the Botswana International 2024, defeating South Africa’s Amy Ackerman and Deidre Laurens in the final. A week prior, the pair claimed the silver medal at the Zambia International 2024, after a grueling battle against Maldivian pair A. Abdul Razzaq and F. Abdul Razzaq.
