The Sri Lankan national badminton team players are gearing up for the upcoming 13th South Asian Games (SAG) by taking part in a residential training camp in Bandarawela.
Sri Lanka will field a 20-member team at the December 1-10 event which will take place in the Nepali capital and suburbs. The team includes eight men and as many women shuttlers as they look to pose a challenge to strong Indian team.
Pokhara is located in central Nepal, about 200 kilometres away from the capital Kathmandu and is known as a gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular trail in the Himalayas. Therefore, Sri Lanka Badminton decided that the cold weather in Bandarawela will help the touring shuttlers acclimatise for the temperature as well as the high altitude for a certain extent.
The team, coached by Indonesian Tony Wahyudi and Duminda Jayakodi, will be led by national champion Dinuka Karunaratne and former champion Achini Rathnasiri.
The team will miss the services of Olympian and Sri Lankan’s top-ranked player Niluka Karunaratne, elder brother of Dinuka, due to an injury.
The strong doubles combination of Buwaneka Goonethilake and Sachin Peiris are expected to repeat their performance at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, where they finished fourth.
Ranthushka Sasindu, Sri Lanka’s second seed is also in the team. Lochana de Silva, Maduka Dulanjana, Krishan Danushka, Thusith Palliyaguru, Chamath Dias and Hasitha Chanaka are also part of the team.
Joining Rathnasiri in the women’s team will be national champion Thilini Hendahewa, Kavidi Sirimannage, Nadeesha Gayanthi, Upuli Weerasinghe, Kavindika de Silva, Hasara Wijeratne, Dilmi Dias, Anurangi Masakorala and Hasini Ambalangodage. Tilak Jayasiri will be the manager of the team.
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