Sri Lanka will be represented by three top shuttlers – namely Viren Nettasinghe, Dumindu Abeywickrama and Ranithma Liyanage – at the 20th Asian Games 2026, to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4.
With higher medal hopes, the three shuttlers will compete in Individual events at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi, where badminton events of Asian Games are played from September 20 to 29.
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Viren and Dumindu will the Men’s Singles event, which begins on September 25, while Ranithma will also take the field on the same day in the Women’s Singles event. Both events will run concurrently, but the Women’s Singles will reach its quarter-finals on September 26, while with a longer list of entries, the Men’s Singles will reach its quarter-final stage on September 27. The finals of both events will be held on September 29.
Viren, 23, the youngest Sri Lankan to qualify for an Olympic held in Paris in 2024, is currently Sri Lanka’s top ranked Men’s Singles alongside Dumindu, who has been in prime during the recent international competitions played since last year. Ranithma is currently Sri Lanka’s top seed in Women’s Singles. The three-member badminton team will be accompanied by Yohners Rambothan of Indonesia as Coach and Team Official. The shuttle team will depart Sri Lanka for the Asian Games on September 20, and reach the official Games Village the following day.
