Mixed success for Lankan shuttlers on UAE tour

Sri Lankan badminton stars representing the Nationalised Services Badminton Association (NSBA) enjoyed mixed fortunes during a tournament held in the UAE on Saturday.

The shuttlers found themselves in unfamiliar territory having little time to acclimatise for a one-day competition organised by Desert Cubs Cricket Academy (DCCA) in Sharjah for the touring Sri Lankan side.

Players who were champions at home blamed their defeat on their failure to sight the shuttle against a light background at the indoor venue.

However, there were no complaints from NSBA’s triumphant pair of KS Pushpakumara and Deepal Madurapperuma who won a thrilling Men's Doubles Veterans final and Men's Singles Open champion Asanka Nuwan Perera who beat team mate Chamara Perera.

Thameera Edirisinghe surprisingly looked out of sorts in the Women's Singles final against a long-time UAE champion Vidya Manghnani while top duo Anusha Udayangani and Nilanthi Adikari were upset by Dubai-based Sri Lankans Minu Mohammed and Susheela Meadows in the Women's Doubles Veterans semifinal.

“The aim of this tour is to provide international exposure in different playing conditions for our players. It was a good exposure against different style of playing in the UAE. It was a new experience, stress reliever and promotes team work,” said NSBA president Chamara Perera, Deputy General Manager (Projects) at Sri Lanka Telecom.

A former badminton captain of Ananda and University of Moratuwa, Chamara featured in a high quality Men's Singles Open final against Asanka who outplayed his rival 30-20.

A former rugby player, Asanka, 28, is making a return to badminton after nine years and a bout of illness, losing to Sri Lanka’s number one Niluka Karunaratne in the last 16 at the National Championships.

“For 15 days I had fever and was feeling weak. I was in hospital for two days before becoming NSBA champion,” said Perera who is employed at Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation.

Lanky Thameera came up short against her experienced Indian opponent Vidya Manghnani despite making a comeback of sorts in the second half of the Women's Singles final.

“I was still trying to get acclimatised to the conditions in the courts. I had just warmed up when the final was over. If I had one more game, I could have attempted to fight back,” said Thameera, the reigning NSBA champion for the past seven years.

“It was fun. I enjoyed playing against her,” said Vidya who later partnered 15-year-old Desert Cubs product Dhriti Adyanthaya to bag the Women's Doubles Veterans title as well.

The Indian pairing proved too hot to handle for Sri Lankans Minu and Susheela who had upset the NSBA doubles champions for the last three years Udayangani and Adikari in a nail-biting semifinal tie 30-26.

“It was the first time we played together. I play for recreation for the last two years. I don’t play badminton professionally. It was fun and good experience,” said Susheela.

“I’ve been playing since childhood and it was just another game. I have been out of the game for a while. It's nice to be back. It was an amazing victory and very tough game,” said Minu who has been HSBC champion for several years.

“It was difficult to see the shuttle. However, Minu played really well with good placements. It was a good contest,” said Anusha who has won NSBA's veterans singles title for three years and doubles partnering her Sri Lanka Ports Authority mate Adikari.

“We must thank SLPA, especially our Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, for giving us all encouragement such as duty leave, all facilities and funds,” said Anusha.

NSBA kept their best performance for the last in a high-octane Veteran's Men’s Doubles final.

Deepal Madurapperuma, a former Sri Lanka first-class cricketer even produced a Federer-like return between his legs to the delight of the crowd.

“We were leading from the start but halfway through they were ahead but finally we finished strongly,” said Madurapperuma who has won eight titles for Petroleum Corporation this year pairing with Pushpakumara.

The duo beat Saji Philip and Krishan Indika 30-26 to clinch the title.

“We brought over 40 players who were selected from tournaments held throughout the year. The NSBA team comprised players from 17 organisations,” said Upendra KGI, manager of the team.

Among them was a former national record holder in the 1500m Udeni Kanchanamala from Petroleum Corporation, who has been actively engaged in badminton for the past four years.

Medals and trophies were presented by Aaron Vedhasinghe, head coach of badminton at DCCA.

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