Lochana de Silva and Varangana Jayawardena bagged the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively at the NCPBA All-Island Open Badminton Championship that concluded at the Sports Department Indoor Stadium in Anuradhapura last weekend.
Lochana went on to claim a double crown by also claiming the mixed doubles title.
Lochana defended his men’s singles title in straight sets, defeating Sethum Perera by identical scores of 21-18 and 21-18. Varangana, on the other hand, had to undergo a setback before bouncing back to claim the women’s singles title 2-1.
She beat Rashmi Mudalige in the final.
Lochana claimed his double crown winning the mixed doubles with partner Rashmi Bhagya, in an exciting final that stretched to three sets. They lost the first set to Thulith Palliyaguru and Panchali Adhikari by 21-16 but returned strong to win the next two sets on 21-12 and 24-22.
The men’s doubles final too proved to be an exciting affair as the game extended to become a three-setter battle, in which Thulith Palliyaguru and Oshamika Karunaratne emerged winners by 2-1. They beat Dinuru Priyashantha and Dulneth Senaratne in the final.
Hasini Ambalangodage and Hasara Wijayaratne made little work against Isuri Attanayake and Sithumi de Silva in the women’s doubles final, winning in straight sets 21-14 and 21-9.
The under-19 boys singles title went to Pamith Bandara who beat Hiruka Sahanmin 2-1.
Komuthu Kethnara claimed the under-19 girls singles title in straight sets win over Amantha Thathsarani, who withdrew midway of the second set.
