Sports
Badminton king Buwaneka sees his shuttlecock going off the court
by A Special Sports Correspondent
Seasoned campaigner Buwaneka Goonathilleka beat the odds against him at the recent 71st Badminton Nationals held in Colombo and won a triple crown. But according to him the sport he loves the most is at present generating enough thoughts in him to consider whether to continue his association with badminton.
Speaking to ‘The Island’ he said that he sees the road that took him so far in the sport nearing an end; largely because he doesn’t see playing full time sport giving him the desired financial security. “My close associates from Galle see my progress as a player and my move to shift to Colombo and inquire whether I’m living the rich life that other sportsmen in Colombo enjoy. They are really mistaken. My future in life looks very bleak at present,” he said.
Goonathilleka created sensation this year at the nationals when he won the men’s open singles and then doubled up with Viren Nettasinghe to bag the men’s doubles. His third title came when he teamed up with Natasha Gunasekare and won the mixed doubles. At 28 years of age he is playing his best badminton and is looking for more exposure at overseas tournaments and a better pay cheque at the end of the month. But he is a long way from creating that dream life.
It has been a long trek for Buwaneka Goonathilleka in the sport of badminton
Knowing that badminton won’t shower him with money he has started to catch up on his postponed education and is now following a degree in IT at the SLIIT Academy. He tells budding badminton players to balance doing sport with education and warns of the repercussions one would have to face in life if one neglects classroom work. Goonathilleka is a person who quit school prematurely to start earning so that he could be based in Colombo and finance his badminton dream. He was employed in his first job at MAS Holdings when he sat for the A Level Examination.
He also served the Army as a sports recruit and now works for B&D Solutions PVT Ltd. He took the responsibility of looking after himself early in life, but that early start has not given him any advantage, he complained. He is a national champion that only a few know; because badminton is not a sport that’s marketed well like cricket and rugby in this country. If not for the encouragement and blessings he gets from his loved ones and friends during these last few years in the sport it would have been a harder grind for him.
He had his humble beginnings in the sport at Richmond College Galle and won his school colours for badminton in 2014. Thanks to the rich badminton culture at school and the commitment shown by his school coaches Goonathilleka made good progress and even emerged as a schoolboy badminton champion.
In the years he has invested on badminton he has made three trips to the Commonwealth Games, been twice to the South Asian Games and once to the Asian Games. He spoke fondly about training under foreign coaches Shankar Annamalai (Malaysia) and now Indonesian coach Tony Wahyudi. At present he comes under the tutelage of Wahyudi at Rising Star Badminton Academy. A fact that must be underscored here is that Goonathilleka and his doubles partners are all from this academy and they managed to beat national poolists in these events at the nationals.
“Right now I’ve decided to stick to my pet event which is the singles because I don’t have a good doubles partner” said Goonathilleka. Till very recently Goonathilleka’s men’s doubles partner was Sachin Dias. These two players enjoyed great success together and even made it to the semis of the Commonwealth Games in the year 2018. The duo enjoyed a world ranking of 72 as at 2022-11-15. At present Goonathilleka and Nettasinghe don’t have a world ranking in the doubles event. Goonathilleka’s world ranking now in the singles event is 349. His best world ranking in the singles was 190 as at 2022-12-13.
His close associates in badminton opine that he has another five good years of badminton left in him. For the record he is 28 years old now; that was the same age when Niluka Karunarathne, Sri Lanka’s best product in badminton to date, made his debut appearance at the Olympics. With no worthwhile competition to talk about existing in the local scene for Goonathilleka this champion strangely sees himself in a position where he has to drag himself to the sports stadium for training.
But before this depressing period he used to train a maximum of three times a day with his total training hours for the day reading between 6-8 hours. A national player must have his head clear to train and dream of getting ahead in the sport of his choice. But for Goonathilleka he is lost between raising the lion flag abroad through his performances in badminton and giving the assurance to his family that he can find a way to survive the thirty days of the month without getting into financial difficulties.
He has been forced to distance himself from Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) for reasons best known to both these parties. He was not a member of the Sri Lankan contingent that went for the last big event for badminton in the world and he is a bit bitter about what had happened. May be, at times, his decent ways are looked upon as one his weaknesses by the sports authorities. Goonathilleka said that he has experienced the thrill of victory at home to the core. “I just want to be remembered as humble player” he concluded.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) got their first points of IPL 2026 but without a victory against their name after their home clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) was washed out on Monday night. Desperate for a win after starting the campaign with two losses on the bounce, KKR were reeling against swing of Xavier Bartlett and were 25 for 2 in 3.4 overs when drizzle stopped the game.
It soon turned into heavy rain with gusts of wind and the entire ground went under white covers. From 7.48pm IST, when the players went off the field, the spectators waited until 11pm when play was called off.
PBKS top the table for now as the only team with five points; three teams are on their heels with four points each.
Rain stopped at around 10.30pm, and hopes of a shortened game lingered briefly as the covers started to come off, but with plenty of water coming off the covers and accumulating near the boundary areas, it was not possible to get the field ready in time for a five-overs-a-side contest.
KKR’s struggles with the bat continued after their captain Ajinkya Rahane surprisingly chose to bat. They were also without their spin twins of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy; the last time KKR had played a match without either was back in 2019. While Narine was unwell, Varun had injured his left hand while fielding in their previous game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Varun was seen in the dugout with strapping on his hand.
Arshdeep Singh started well for PBKS, swinging the ball both ways in the first over, before Bartlett took over with his hooping outswingers. He beat Finn Allen three times in a row with outswing at the start of the second over before extracting his outside edge to send him back for 6. Next ball, he drew a thick edge from Cameron Green that went for four, and he then pounded in another zippy outswinger that kissed Green’s outside edge for another caught-behind.
In just three balls, KKR had slipped from 12 for 0 to 16 for 2 as Rahane watched from the other end. It had drizzled a bit through that period of action, and the umpires called for the covers in the fourth over.
The only reason for the KKR faithful to cheer was when franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was shown on the big screen and when he later appeared on the balcony to wave to the fans.
Scores: Match abandoned
Kolkata Knight Riders 25 for 2 in 3.4 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 08*, AngkrishnRaguvanshi 07*; Xavier Bartlett 2-9) vs Punjab Kings
[Cricinfo]
Matheesha Pathirana and Wanidu Hasaranga are among 15 Sri Lankan players under central contracts yet to take their mandatory fitness tests, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed. Six others are understood to have failed at least one attempt, which means that of the 45 centrally-contracted players, currently only 24 have passed the test.
The reasons for those yet to take the test vary from injuries to logistical issues. The timelines for Hasaranga and Pathirana remain most pertinent, with the pair set to represent Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively in IPL 2026.
Hasaranga’s scenario looks the most bleak, with sources close to the player saying it’s unlikely he will play “anytime soon,” while a source at SLC said that “Hasaranga has not as yet requested for an NOC (No Objection Certificate).” The legspinner has been out of action since tearing his left hamstring in Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup opener against Ireland in February, and there is no clear idea on when he will undergo his fitness evaluation.
Pathirana, who strained his calf in the T20 World Cup match against Australia, is understood to have begun bowling in the nets as he ups his recovery, with sources close to the player hopeful of him being in India for the IPL by mid-April. While no date has been officially set for his SLC-mandated fitness test, it is likely to take place next week.
SLCs overhauling of their fitness culture has also extended to the domestic National Super League tournament, which began on Monday. The testing for that is less stringent; players only need to complete a 2km run and a skin-fold test. No points are allocated, they simply need to pass the minimum threshold. Whereas centrally-contracted players have a 20m sprint, a 5-0-5 agility test, and a Counter Movement Jump (CMJ) – each offering points ranging from one to five each – with a potential seven points each up for grabs in the 2km run and skin-fold test. Seventeen out of 29 points are needed to pass the test.
Of the 87 players taking part in the tournament, 23 failed to clear the minimum fitness requirements and have been given an April 19 deadline to pass the test. If they fail to do so, they will be allowed to continue playing but will be denied their match fees, with future representation in the tournament also likely to come under scrutiny.
[Cricinfo]
Open batsman Aveesha Samash produced a superb century to power St. Joseph’s College to a commanding first-day total against Prince of Wales College in their Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ semi-final encounter at the D.H.H. Ground, Madampella on Monday.
Samash top scored with a brilliant 122 runs, striking 14 fours and three sixes, as the Josephians piled up an imposing 354 in their first innings.
Asked to take first lease of the wicket, St. Joseph’s suffered an early setback, losing two wickets for just 16 runs. However, Samash steadied the innings with a crucial third wicket partnership alongside Pamoda Dalpadado. The pair added a valuable 173 runs to turn the match in favour of the Josephians.
Batting for more than thirty overs together, Samash played the aggressor’s role while Dalpadado provided steady support, ensuring the Joes rebuilt strongly and maintained control of the contest. Dalpadado contributed a well-compiled 64 before being caught by Rusandu Silva off the bowling of Oshan Maneesha, who emerged as the pick of the Prince of Wales bowlers.
Samash continued his fluent innings to reach a well-deserved century before being dismissed after laying a solid platform for his side.
Following their departures, Chethina Kavinda added a useful 34 while Nushan Perera accelerated the scoring with an entertaining 60 off 68 balls, which included nine boundaries and a six, helping the Josephians reach their formidable total of 354.
For Prince of Wales, Oshan Maneesha led the bowling effort with good support from Nethul Anuhas and Rusandu Silva, who claimed two wickets each.
At stumps on the opening day, the Cambrians safely negotiated one over each from Nushan Perera and Vishwa Peiris without losing a wicket, beginning their reply cautiously.
Scores:
St. Joseph’s 354 all out in 78.3 overs (Aveesha Samash 122, Pamoda Dalpadado 64, Nushan Perera 60, Chethina Kavinda 34; Oshan Maneesha 4/91, Nethul Anuhas 2/83, Rusandu Silva 2/39).
Prince of Wales
3 for no loss in 2 overs. (RF)
Artemis II crew head for home after travelling further from Earth than anyone before
Washout gives Kolkata Knight Riders first point after Bartlett’s new-ball burst
Hasaranga, Pathirana yet to undergo SLC-mandated fitness tests
Sun directly overhead Dehiwala, Maharagama, Pannipitiya, Padukka, Eheliyagoda, Maskeliya, Siyambalanduwa and Pottuvil at about 12:13 noon. today (07th)
Showers will occur at several places in the Northern, North-central, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Southern provinces after 1.00 p.m.
Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and Monaragala and Hambantota districts.
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