Buwaneka Goonethilleka and Sachin Dias makes history in Gold Coast Australia as they have shuttled their way through three rounds to reach the semi-finals of the 21st Commonwealth Games. No Sri Lankan has ever come this far in the Men’s Doubles event at the prestigious Commonwealth Games, the furthest being the round of 32 back in the 2014 Glasgow Games.
Commonwealth Games: Shuttlers through to the Quarters
It was a good day for the Sri Lankan Badminton team as they earned their spots in the singles and doubles quarterfinals at the
Gonnethillake and Dias played an intense three setter this afternoon against Canadian pair Jason Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura. The first game went to the Canadians with just a two-point gap of 21/19. This is when the battle to equalize started for the Lankan duo as they hung close till the scores were tied at 20/20. Goonethilleka and Dias countered when it most mattered and grabbed their first break of serve in the 2nd game to earn themselves with a game point, which they easily served off. From there-on the pair had total control of the match. Winning 9 points on their serve and 12 on their opponents, Sachin and Buwaneka crushed the Canadians 21/17 to take home this historic victory.
Dinuka Karunaratne, competing in his first quarter-final in the Commonwealth Games lost at the hands of H. S. Prannoy a short while ago. Prior to this his brother, Niluka Karunaratne, held the title of reaching the quarter-finals in the Men’s Singles event at the games. After starting the match on a high at 4/1 up and again 6/3 up, Dinuka stammered and lost control when it came to the longer rallies. Prannoy, attacking Dinuka’s backhand with thundering smashes got off to a comfortable lead mid-game and made his way through to a calm and collected 21/13, 21/6 victory.
The quarter-finals of the Women’s Doubles took place earlier today with the Sri Lankans not finding luck for a semi-final entry. India’s top doubles combination Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy massacred Madushika Dilrukshi and Hasini Ambalangodage to a 21/11, 21/13 win. The other half saw Thilini Hendahewa and Kavidi Sirimannage take on English pair Lauren Smith and Sarah Walker. Breaking serve multiple times throughout the match, Walker and Smith walked away with a comfortable win of 21/12, 21/16.
The semi-final match of the only Sri Lankan shuttlers still standing in the 2018 Commonwealth Games will take place tomorrow (14th April) 06.30am SL time with Sachin Dias and Buwaneka Goonethilleka taking on Chirag Shetty and Satwik Rankireddy of India.
Stay logged on ThePapare.com for instant updates on the players’ journey.
