Lochana, Warangana clinch singles titles; double crown for Rashmi

Lochana Oshan de Silva and Warangana Jayawardena emerged Open Men’s and Women’s Singles champions respectively at the North Western Province Badminton Association (NWPBA) Open Badminton Championships held over the weekend.

Lochana fought back from one set down to defeat Aashinsha Herath 15-21, 21-17, 21-14 to lift the title while Warangana overpowered Rashmi Bhagya Mudalige 12-21, 21-7, 21-14 to win the singles crown. Aashinsha Herath wne on to claim the Under-19 Boy’s Singles title with ease.

Earlier, Lochana and Nadeesha Gayathri won the Mixed Doubles title by defeating Aashinsha and Warangana 21-19, 13-21, 23-21. Hasitha Chanaka and Roshan Padmakumara won the Men’s Doubles crown following a 19-21, 21-13, 29-27 victory over Madhuka Dulanjana and R.S. Kasun in the final while Natasha

Gunasekera and Rashmi won the Women’s Open Doubles title when they beat Thiseja Damnadee Herath and Ranumi Suhasni Manage 21-15, 21-11. Natasha and Rashmi also went on to clinch the Under-19 Girls Doubles title. Rashmi claimed her double crown of the tournament, claiming the Under-19 Girls Singles title.

The championships, the

first Level I ranking tournament in the Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) event calendar this year, was organised by the North Western Province Badminton Association under the auspices of SLB and took place at Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment Indoor Stadium in Boyagane and the Welagedara Indoor Stadium in Kurunegala.