Young Sri Lankan shuttler, NilukaKarunaratne managed to list himself in the Olympic Qualifiers’ list, which was developed and published by the Badminton World Federation (WBF), last Thursday (03).
The world’s badminton governing body in a statement said, “After 363 days and 110 tournaments, the qualifiers for the 2012 Olympic Games from 52 Members Associations have been determined upon the publication of the BWF World Ranking on Thursday 3 May 2012”.
Niluka has secured the 30th position in the 38-member list, where the WBF would be selecting 38 players for the Men’s Open Singles event.
Niluka, who currently stands at the 47th position in the world rankings, have been advancing in his rankings from the 187th position, since October 2011. Niluka had contested 13 international tournaments in whichhe sealed the championship in five, concluding two of the games as the third runner-up, within the six-month period.
Karunaratne was able to display noteworthy performances in the Puerto Rico International Challenge 2011, worked off in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico (Nov 02 – 06), XIII Bill Graham Miami International tournament, held in the USA (Nov 09 – 12), and the Yonex Welsh International Tournament, concluded on December 4, at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff.
In February this year, Niluka managed to grab the Gold medal in the Uganda International Badminton Championship beating Italy’s WisnuHaryo Putra.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s ThiliniJayasinghe may have a chance to compete at the London Olympics 2012, if any of the selected participants don’t confirm their participation as the BWF would be selecting the best 38 players. Jayasinghe, who is ranked 109th in the world, is currently placed 46th in the Olympic selection list, published by the BWF.
