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Goonethilleka & Nettasinghe finish third in the Maldives
Sri Lanka’s star shuttlers Buwaneka Goonethilleka and Viren Nettasinghe put up commendable performances against top opponents to clinch the bronze medal in the men’s doubles at the LI-NING Maldives International Challenge 2023 in Male, over the weekend.
After eliminating some of the best pairs in the tournament in the Maldivian capital, the duo lost to the formidable Malaysian pair of Low Hang Yee and Masng Eng Cheong. Despite their best efforts, Goonethilleka and Nettasinghe were outmatched by their Malaysian opponents in the semi-final which ended with a scoreline of 11-21, 10-21, favouring Yee and Cheong. The Malaysian World No. 98 pair eventually fell to Thailand’s Pharanyu Kaosamaang and Thaworrapol Thongsa-Nga who went on to clinch the doubles title with a 21-19, 21-16 win.
Earlier, in the opening round of the tournament, Goonethilleka and Nettasinghe faced a formidable Indian pair, Deep Rambhiya and Akshan Shetty, and displayed great resilience and determination, eventually securing a hard-fought victory with a scoreline of 21-15, 13-21, 21-17.
Building on their initial success, Goonethilleka and Nettasinghe faced the Thai pair Pongsakorn Thongkham and Wongsathorn Thongkham in a nail-biting Round 2 encounter. The match went down to the wire, with both teams displaying incredible skill and tenacity, but the Sri Lankan pair eventually emerged triumphant with a close scoreline of 21-19, 17-21, 21-19.
Advancing to the quarter-finals, they faced the Canadian top seeds Kevin Lee and Ty Alexander Lindeman. The match proved to be an intense battle, with each pair fighting tooth and nail for every point. After an exhilarating three-game contest, the Sri Lankan pair emerged victorious with a final score of 15-21, 21-15, 21-19, securing their spot in the semifinals.
Although they fell short in the semifinals, Goonethilleka and Nettasinghe’s performances throughout the LI-NING Maldives International Badminton Challenge 2023 were highly commendable as they displayed exceptional skill, determination, and sportsmanship.
ගුණතිලක සහ නෙත්තසිංහ මාලදිවයිනේදි තෙවැනි ස්ථානයට පත්වේ
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ සුපිරි බැඩ්මින්ටන් ක්රීඩකයින් වන බුවනෙක ගුණතිලක සහ විරේන් නෙත්තසිංහ සති අන්තයේ මාලේ හි පැවති LI-NING මාලදිවයිනේ ජාත්යන්තර අභියෝගතා 2023 පිරිමි යුගල ඉසව්වේ ලෝකඩ පදක්කම දිනා ගැනීමට ඉහළම ප්රතිවාදීන්ට එරෙහිව ප්රශංසනීය දස්කම් දැක්වීමට සමත් වූහ.
මාලදිවයිනේ අගනුවර පැවති තරගාවලියේ දක්ෂ යුගල කිහිපයක් පැරදවීමෙන් පසුව, ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා මැලේසියානු ප්රබල යුගල වන Low Hang Yee සහ Masng Eng Cheong හමුවේ පරාජයට පත් වූහ. ඔවුන්ගේ ප්රහාරය නොතකා, ගුණතිලක සහ නෙත්තසිංහ අවසන් පූර්ව තරගයේදී ඔවුන්ගේ මැලේසියානු ප්රතිවාදී ක්රීඩකයින් අභිබවා යමින් 11-21, 10-21ක් ලෙස ලකුණු ලබා ගත්හ . ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම් හී 98 වන මැලේසියානු යුගලය අවසානයේ තායිලන්තයේ Pharanyu Kaosamaang සහ Thaworrapol Thongsa-Nga හමුවේ පරාජයට පත් වූ අතර ඔවුන් යුගල ශූරතාව දිනා ගැනීමට 21-19, 21-16 ජයග්රහණයක් ලබා ගත්හ.
මීට පෙර තරගාවලියේ ආරම්භක වටයේ දී ගුණතිලක සහ නෙත්තසිංහ ප්රබල ඉන්දීය යුගලයක් වන දීප් රම්භියා සහ අක්ෂාන් ෂෙට්ටි හමුවේ ලකුණු 21-15, 13-21, 21-17 ක් ලෙස තියුණු ජයග්රහණයක් ලබා ගත්හ.
ඔවුන්ගේ ආරම්භක සාර්ථකත්වය මත ගොඩනැගුණු ගුණතිලක සහ නෙත්තසිංහ, තායිලන්ත යුගලය වන පොන්සාකෝන් තොන්කාම් සහ වොන්ග්සතෝර්න් තොංකාම් සමඟ 2 වටයේ තරගයකදී මුහුණ දුන්හ. කණ්ඩායම් දෙකම ඇදහිය නොහැකි දස්කම් සහ දස්කම් දැක්වීමත් සමඟ අවසානයේ ශ්රී ලංකා යුගලය 21-19, 17-21, 21-19ක් ලෙසින් ජයග්රහණය කළේය.
අර්ධ අවසන් පූර්ව වටයට පිවිසීමට ඔවුන් මුහුණ දුන්නේ කැනේඩියානු ප්රමුඛ පෙළේ කෙවින් ලී සහ ටයි ඇලෙක්සැන්ඩර් ලින්ඩමන් සමඟ ය. තරගය තියුණු සටනක් බව ඔප්පු වූ අතර, සෑම යුගලයක්ම සෑම ලකුණු සඳහාම සටන් කළහ. උද්වේගකර තරග තුනකින් අනතුරුව අවසන් පූර්ව වටයේ ස්ථානය තහවුරු කර ගනිමින් ශ්රී ලංකා යුගලය අවසන් ලකුණු සංඛ්යාව 15-21, 21-15, 21-19ක් ලෙසින් ජයග්රහණය කිරීමට සමත් විය.
ඔවුන් අවසන් පූර්ව වටයේදී අඩුවෙන් ඉවත් වුවද, LI-NING මාලදිවයිනේ ජාත්යන්තර බැඩ්මින්ටන් අභියෝගතා 2023 පුරාවටම ගුණතිලක සහ නෙත්තසිංහගේ දස්කම් ඉතා පැසසුමට ලක්විය හැකි වූයේ ඔවුන් සුවිශේෂී දක්ෂතා, අධිෂ්ඨානය සහ ක්රීඩාශීලිත්වය ප්රදර්ශනය කළ බැවිනි.
மாலத்தீவில் குணதிலகா மற்றும் நெட்டசிங்க மூன்றாவது இடத்தில் உள்ளனர்
மாலேயில் வார இறுதியில் நடைபெற்ற LI-NING மாலத்தீவுகள் சர்வதேச சவால் 2023 ஆடவர் இரட்டையர் போட்டியில், இலங்கையின் பேட்மிண்டன் சூப்பர் ஸ்டார்களான புவனேகா குணதிலகா மற்றும் வீரேன் நெட்டசிங்க ஆகியோர், சிறந்த எதிர்ப்பை எதிர்த்து வெண்கலப் பதக்கத்தை வென்றனர்.
மாலத்தீவின் தலைநகரில் நடந்த போட்டியில் பல திறமையான ஜோடிகளை தோற்கடித்த பின்னர், இருவரும் மலேசியாவின் அதிகார மையமான லோ ஹாங் யீ மற்றும் மாஸ்ங் எங் சியோங்கிடம் தோற்றனர். அவர்களின் தாக்குதலுக்கு மத்தியிலும், குணதிலகே மற்றும் நெத்தசிங்க அரையிறுதியில் 11-21, 10-21 என்ற கணக்கில் மலேசிய எதிரணியை வீழ்த்தினர். உலகத் தரவரிசையில் 98-வது இடத்தில் உள்ள மலேசிய ஜோடி, இறுதியில் தாய்லாந்தின் ஃபரன்யு கௌசமாங் மற்றும் தவோரபோல் தோங்சா-ங்கா ஜோடியிடம் தோல்வியடைந்தது, அவர்கள் 21-19, 21-16 என்ற கணக்கில் வெற்றி பெற்று இரட்டையர் பட்டத்தை வென்றனர்.
முன்னதாக, போட்டியின் தொடக்கச் சுற்றில் குணதிலகே மற்றும் நெட்டசிங்க ஜோடி 21-15, 13-21, 21-17 என்ற செட் கணக்கில் வலுவான இந்திய ஜோடிகளான தீப் ரம்பியா மற்றும் அக்ஷன் ஷெட்டிக்கு எதிராக வெற்றி பெற்றது.
அவர்களின் ஆரம்ப வெற்றியைக் கட்டியெழுப்ப, குணதிலகே மற்றும் நெட்டசிங்க தாய்லாந்து ஜோடியான பொன்சகோன் தோங்கம் மற்றும் வோங்சதோர்ன் தோங்கம் ஆகியோரை ஒரு சுற்று 2 போட்டியில் எதிர்கொண்டனர். இறுதியில் இரு அணி வீரர்களும் அபாரமான ஆட்டத்தை வெளிப்படுத்தியதன் மூலம் இலங்கை ஜோடி 21-19, 17-21, 21-19 என்ற செட் கணக்கில் வெற்றி பெற்றது.
அவர்கள் காலிறுதிக்கு முன்னேற கனடாவின் முதல் நிலை வீரரான கெவின் லீ மற்றும் டை அலெக்சாண்டர் லிண்டேமன் ஆகியோரை எதிர்கொண்டனர். ஒவ்வொரு ஜோடியும் ஒவ்வொரு புள்ளிக்காகப் போராடியதால், போட்டி இறுக்கமான போராக இருந்தது. பரபரப்பான மூன்று போட்டிகளுக்குப் பிறகு, இலங்கை ஜோடி 15-21, 21-15, 21-19 என்ற கணக்கில் இறுதிப் புள்ளிகளில் வெற்றி பெற்று அரையிறுதிக்குத் தகுதி பெற்றது.
அரையிறுதியில் அவர்கள் குறுகிய வெளியேற்றம் இருந்த போதிலும், LI-NING மாலத்தீவுகள் சர்வதேச பூப்பந்து சவால் 2023 முழுவதும் குணதிலக மற்றும் நெட்டசிங்கவின் செயல்திறன் மிகவும் பாராட்டத்தக்கது, ஏனெனில் அவர்கள் விதிவிலக்கான திறமை, உறுதிப்பாடு மற்றும் விளையாட்டுத்திறனை வெளிப்படுத்தினர்.
Cricket
Team Green Clinch Women’s NSL T20 Title with Commanding Final Victory
Team Green were crowned champions of the Women’s National Super League T20 tournament after producing a dominant six-wicket victory over Team Blue in the final played at the P. Sara Oval on Saturday.
The championship triumph was built on a disciplined and clinical bowling performance, as Team Green dismissed Team Blue for a modest total of 95 in 18.1 overs. Oshadi Ranasinghe led the attack with an outstanding four-wicket haul, applying sustained pressure through the middle overs and preventing any meaningful recovery. She received strong support from Malsha Shehani, Kawya Kavindi, Nimasha Madushani, and Udeshika Prabodani, as Team Blue struggled to establish partnerships.
Team Blue found resistance through Chamari Athapaththu, who played a determined innings of 51 from 41 deliveries. Her knock helped stabilise the innings after early setbacks, but regular wickets at the other end stalled momentum. Once Athapaththu was dismissed, the remainder of the batting lineup was unable to provide support, leading to a rapid collapse.
In response, Team Green approached the chase with calm assurance. Despite losing a few early wickets, they remained firmly in control throughout the pursuit of the modest target. Nilakshika Silva anchored the innings with a composed unbeaten 36, rotating the strike effectively and keeping the scoreboard ticking. Oshadi Ranasinghe completed a memorable all-round performance by contributing an unbeaten 16, ensuring there were no late complications.
Team Green reached the target at 98 for 4 in 18.1 overs, sealing the title with 11 balls to spare. Team Blue’s bowlers attempted to apply pressure, but the total proved insufficient to trouble a well-organised batting unit.
The victory capped a successful campaign for Team Green, underlining their consistency and balance throughout the tournament, while Oshadi Ranasinghe’s all-round brilliance stood out on the biggest stage.
Brief Scores
Team Blue – 95 all out in 18.1 overs
Chamari Athapaththu 51; Oshadi Ranasinghe 4/17, Udeshika Prabodani 1/17
Team Green – 98/4 in 18.1 overs
Nilakshika Silva 36*, Oshadi Ranasinghe 16*; Devmi Vihanga 1/22
Cricket
Milan, Dunith Likely to Return for ODIs as Sri Lanka Prepare for England Series
England Tour of Sri Lanka 2026
All-rounders Milan Rathnayake and Dunith Wellalage are set to make their return to Sri Lanka’s One-Day International squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England, which is scheduled to begin in the coming days.
Sri Lanka selectors have opted for a well-balanced squad that blends experienced campaigners with emerging talent as the hosts prepare for a demanding home series against a strong England side.
Charith Asalanka will continue to lead the ODI team as captain, with his role in the middle order expected to be pivotal. Asalanka’s ability to absorb pressure and accelerate when required will be key against England’s varied bowling attack.
At the top of the order, Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara are expected to open the batting. Nissanka’s consistency and sound technique remain central to Sri Lanka’s ODI plans, while Mishara will be eager to convert starts into meaningful contributions. Their partnership will be crucial in providing solid foundations.
Wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis adds experience and aggression to the middle order, offering Sri Lanka flexibility in both tempo and shot selection. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Janith Liyanage further strengthen the batting unit, with both players capable of anchoring the innings or playing decisive roles when momentum is needed.
The squad features strong all-round depth, with Kamindu Mendis offering versatility with both bat and ball. The return of Wanindu Hasaranga significantly enhances Sri Lanka’s all-round options, with his leg-spin expected to play a decisive role on home pitches. Dunith Wellalage’s inclusion adds another spin-bowling all-rounder capable of controlling the middle overs.
Milan Rathnayake’s likely return boosts the seam-bowling all-round resources, while the pace attack will be led by Asitha Fernando, supported by Eshan Malinga and Pramod Madushan. The spin department is further reinforced by Maheesh Theekshana and Jeffrey Vandersay, both expected to be influential under Sri Lankan conditions.
The first ODI of the series is scheduled to be played on Thursday (22) at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
Probable Sri Lanka ODI Squad vs England
Charith Asalanka (Captain), Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay.
News
Peiris, Norbert, Usgodaarachchi and De Silva Lead Women’s Charge at Yeti SSC Open
The Women’s Singles quarterfinals at the Yeti SSC Open Tennis Championship delivered a high standard of competition, with Yuhansa Peiris, Annaya Norbert, Sandithi Usgodaarachchi, and Dinara De Silva producing impressive performances to book their places in the semifinals.
Yuhansa Peiris produced one of the most commanding displays of the tournament, overwhelming Dulkini Ranasinghe in straight sets, 6/0, 6/0. Peiris controlled the match from the outset, combining solid baseline dominance with precise shot placement and relentless pressure that gave her opponent little opportunity to find rhythm.
Dinara De Silva was equally dominant in her quarterfinal encounter, cruising past Aroshi Thomas 6/1, 6/0. De Silva’s confident shot selection, consistent aggression, and sharp court movement allowed her to dictate play throughout the match, underlining her strong form in the championship.
One of the most competitive matches of the women’s quarterfinals saw Annaya Norbert edge past Biyanka Acquistapace in a tightly contested contest. Norbert held her nerve in crucial moments to secure a 6/4, 7/6 victory, clinching the match in a tense second-set tiebreak after sustained pressure from both players.
Sandithi Usgodaarachchi showcased impressive resilience and mental strength in her quarterfinal clash against Vinethya Dharmarathne. After dropping the opening set 2/6, Usgodaarachchi regrouped and raised her intensity, dominating the next two sets 6/3, 6/1 to complete a hard-fought comeback and advance to the semifinals.
The Men’s Singles quarterfinals were equally compelling, with several strong performances shaping an exciting semifinal lineup. Ganuka Fernando advanced with a composed 6/3, 6/4 victory over Ashen Silva, using disciplined baseline play and timely winners to maintain control during key phases of the match.
Thehan Wijemanne delivered one of the most dominant performances in the men’s draw, dismantling Neven Kannangara 6/1, 6/2. Wijemanne’s aggressive approach and constant pressure from the opening game left little room for his opponent to recover.
Harishva Parameshwaran demonstrated experience and tactical awareness in a solid 6/2, 6/4 win against Rehan Gunawardhana, maintaining steady momentum and dictating play with well-constructed points. Rounding off the quarterfinal stage, Methvan Vijemanne advanced in emphatic fashion, defeating Aahil Kallel 6/1, 6/1 with excellent court coverage and sharp finishing.
With the semifinals now set, the Yeti SSC Open Tennis Championship continues to highlight the growing depth, competitiveness, and quality of Sri Lanka’s tennis talent across both the women’s and men’s categories.
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