Niluka Karunaratne
Karunaratne at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
CountrySri Lanka
Born (1985-02-13) 13 February 1985
Galle, Sri Lanka
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
HandednessRight
CoachLouie Karunaratne
Men's singles
Highest ranking34 (27 June 2013)
Current ranking164 (22 November 2022)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Sri Lanka
South Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Colombo Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2010 Dhaka Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Islamabad Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Dhaka Mixed doubles
BWF profile

Niluka Karunaratne (Sinhala: නිලූක කරුණාරත්න; Tamil: நிலுக கருணாரத்ன) (born 13 February 1985) is a Sri Lankan badminton player who has competed at the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and 2020.[1] His father Louie Karunaratne and brothers Dinuka Karunaratne, Chamika Karunaratne (also a cricketer)[2] and Diluka Karunaratne are also professional badminton players.[3][4] He is currently regarded as the number one premiere badminton player in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka's most decorated badminton player with a record 21 medals to his name at international events including 9 gold medals.[5] He also holds the unique distinction of winning five gold medals in five different continents.[6] He reached his higher career singles ranking of 34 in June 2013, which is also the personal best ranking by a Sri Lankan badminton player. He has also emerged as national badminton champion for record 17 times, the most by a Sri Lankan badminton player.[7][8] Despite his achievements in the sport, he was also sidelined for disciplinary issues on few occasions.[9]

Career

Karunaratne, born in the coastal area of Galle, received his primary and secondary education in Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda and Royal College, Colombo, where he won the Royal Crown in 2001. He took up badminton at the age of 8, having been introduced to the sport by his father, who was a national level badminton player.[10] He became the youngest ever Sri Lankan national badminton champion at the age of 16 in 2001 after winning his maiden national title on debut appearance at the Sri Lankan Badminton Nationals.[5]

Karunaratne competed in five consecutives Commonwealth Games from 2002 to 2018.[11][12] At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he was knocked out of the men's singles in the round of 16 by Srikanth Kidambi.[13] He was also part of the Sri Lankan mixed badminton team, which was knocked out at the quarterfinal stage by England.[14]

Karunaratne at the 2018 Dutch Open

He won his first international badminton championship in 2011 after emerging victorious in the men's singles event at the Puerto Rico International.[15] He also set a record for winning most consecutive number of men's singles title at the Sri Lankan Badminton Nationals during 9 occasions from 2000 to 2009.[5]

As of July 2012, he was ranked 48th in the men's singles from the BWF World Ranking.[16] In 2012, the Sri Lankan Daily News called him "Sri Lanka’s undisputed badminton champion".[17][18]

He was selected to captain the Sri Lankan contingent to the 2012 Summer Olympics in his debut Olympic appearance and was also the flagbearer for Sri Lanka during the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[19][20] On 30 July 2012, Karunaratne defeated world eighth-ranked Kenichi Tago of Japan 2–0. Karunaratne defeated Tago 21–18, 21–16 in 44 minutes at the Wembley Arena in the Olympic men's badminton singles Group C at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[21] The Associated Press quoted him as saying: "This is the biggest win in the history of Sri Lanka badminton".[22] India's Parupalli Kashyap sent him out of the Games, in a closely fought pre-quarter match.[23]

He made his second Summer Olympics appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympics representing Sri Lanka amid various difficulties as he was not eligible to compete in local and international badminton events due to the temporary ban on Sri Lankan Badminton Federation imposed by the Badminton World Federation in 2015.[24]

In January 2021, he was tested positive for COVID-19 along with his younger brother Chamika and Niluka was disbanded from the National Badminton Association.[25] However, he pledged to participate in badminton competitions after recovering from COVID-19 and in February 2021, he along with his younger brother and national cricketer Chamika Karunaratne played in the first round encounters in the men's singles of the Sri Lankan Badminton Nationals 2020.[26][27] He announced his retirement from competing in local events after claiming the national badminton title for the record seventeenth time in 2021.[28] However, he continued to compete in foreign competition with the aim of qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[29] In May 2021, Niluka reached the semifinals of the 56th edition of the Portuguese International Badminton Championships but was eliminated from the semis after losing to Germany's Max Weisskirchen.[30]

He also qualified to represent Sri Lanka at the 2020 Summer Olympics after receiving tripartite commission quota from Badminton World Federation and it would also mark his third appearance at the Olympics and also went onto become the sixth Sri Lankan competitor to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.[31][32] He will also become the first Sri Lankan badminton player to compete at three successive Olympics.[33][34] He announced that he would officially retire from international badminton after competing at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July 2021.[6] He was accompanied by his brother Dinuka Karunaratne as his partner in lead up to the 2020 Olympics.[35]

He also holds a position in the banking sector as a bank employee.[36][37][4]

Controversies

During the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Niluka was controversially appointed as the captain of the seven member Sri Lankan contingent by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka during the multi-sport event despite having experienced Anuradha Cooray in the mix who already competed previously at an Olympic event in 2004. Anuradha claimed that he should have been appointed as the captain of Sri Lankan Olympic team instead of Niluka whom he termed as novice and Anuradha insisted that Niluka hasn't done anything exceptional prior to competing at the Olympics. However, Niluka disagreed regarding the comments made by Anuradha Cooray.[38]

In 2014, Sri Lanka Badminton Association took disciplinary action against Niluka for acting in an undisciplined manner during the selection trials prior to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[39]

In 2018, after losing the quarterfinal match against in the Badminton Nationals Buwanika Gunathilaka he had a brawl with a spectator who was seen cheering for Buwanika Gunathilaka during the match.[40]

Achievements

South Asian Games

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2010 Wooden-Floor Gymnasium,
Dhaka, Bangladesh		 Sri Lanka Renu Hettiarachchige India Sanave Thomas
India Aparna Balan		 14–21, 13–21 Bronze Bronze

BWF International Challenge/Series (10 titles, 5 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2011 Puerto Rico International Austria Michael Lahnsteiner 21–18, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2011 Miami International Peru Rodrigo Pacheco 21–12, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2011 Welsh International Malaysia Lok Chong Chieh 21–16, 18–21, 21–19 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2012 Uganda International Italy Wisnu Haryo Putro 21–11, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2012 Iran Fajr International India Sameer Verma 21–18, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2012 Brazil International Guatemala Kevin Cordón 21–17, 20–22, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2012 Bahrain International India B. Sai Praneeth 21–14, 14–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2014 Dutch International Denmark Rasmus Fladberg Walkover 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2016 Uganda International Portugal Pedro Martins 21–17, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2016 Portugal International Sweden Gabriel Ulldahl 21–17, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2017 Brazil International Brazil Ygor Coelho 9–21, 21–14, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Benin International Azerbaijan Ade Resky Dwicahyo 23–21, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2020 Uganda International Hungary Gergely Krausz 18–21, 21–18, 13–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2010 Maldives International Sri Lanka Dinuka Karunaratna Pakistan Sulehri Kashif Ali
Pakistan Rizwan Azam		 21–18, 18–21, 15–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2016 Uganda International Sri Lanka Dinuka Karunaratna Egypt Ali Ahmed El Khateeb
Egypt Abdelrahman Kashkal		 21–17, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niluka Karunaratne.

References

  1. ↑ "Niluka KARUNARATNE - Olympic Badminton | Sri Lanka". International Olympic Committee. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Acharya, Shayan (19 July 2021). "A busy sporting season for the Karunaratnes from Sri Lanka". Sportstar. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Rajendran, Angu (1 February 2011). "Dinuka - Sri Lanka's champion shuttler". dailynews.lk. Daily News. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Karunaratne brothers giving Lanka a new high in badminton". The Times of India. 2 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "Making of an extraordinary shuttle talent". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Karunaratne determined to raise the bar high for badminton in Sri Lanka". Daily News. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ↑ Caffoor, Inshaf (31 October 2016). "Niluka Karunaratne undisputed National Champion for 16th consecutive year". ThePapare.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  8. ↑ "Niluka defends his national title | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "The shuttlecock's stuck in the racket | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Glasgow 2014 - Niluka Karunaratne Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "Niluka Karunaratne | Commonwealth Games Federation". thecgf.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Participants: Niluka Karunaratne". gc2018.com. Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Glasgow 2014 - Men's Singles Round of 16". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "Glasgow 2014 - Mixed Teams Quarter-final". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "BWF - Puerto Rico Internacional 2011 - Winners". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ranking of Niluka KARUNARATNE". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "I want to be among the best 10 in the world". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 2012. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. (interview)
  18. ↑ Nazir, Muhammad Ahmad (7 July 2012). "Niluka Karunaratne stretches his winning run at OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold". newspakistan.pk.
  19. ↑ Weerawansa, Dhaneshi (15 July 2012). "Seven Sri Lankans at London 2012 Olympic Games". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 26 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "Niluka Karunaratne". london2011.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
  21. ↑ Associated Press. "Lankan causes upset in Olympic badminton - Sports - Other - Emirates24|7". emirates247.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  22. ↑ Niumata, Foster (30 July 2012). "Sri Lankan KOs Tago in badminton upset". Associated Press via Yahoo! News.
  23. ↑ Agencies, Staff with. "Lanka sad as India's Kashyap downs Niluka - Sports - Other - Emirates24|7". emirates247.com. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  24. ↑ "Karunaratne gears up for tough challenge". Daily News. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  25. ↑ "Niluka Karunaratne tests positive for Covid-19". CeylonToday. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  26. ↑ Nadeera, Dilshan. "Cricketer Chamika returns to badminton as National Championship commences". Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  27. ↑ Nadeera, Dilshan. "Badminton Federation expects Niluka to be fit for postponed Nationals". Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  28. ↑ Nadeera, Dilshan. "Niluka defends title before announcing retirement". Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  29. ↑ "Karunaratne throws in the towel but eyes Olympics". Sunday Observer. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  30. ↑ Ratnaweera, Dhammika. "Niluka beaten in Portuguese Open semi-finals". Daily News. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  31. ↑ "Niluka Karunaratne becomes 6th Sri Lankan to qualify for Tokyo Olympics". adaderana.lk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  32. ↑ "Shuttler Niluka Karunaratne fourth Sri Lankan to qualify for Tokyo Olympics | Daily FT". ft.lk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  33. ↑ Ratnaweera, Dhammika. "Niluka battles COVID anxiety to reach Olympics for third time". Daily News. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  34. ↑ Bala (18 July 2021). "Sri Lanka all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne's brother Niluka Karunaratne set to participate in Tokyo Olympics 2020". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  35. ↑ "Badminton wildcard Niluka targets 'something special' in Tokyo". Sunday Observer. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  36. ↑ "Olympic dreams". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  37. ↑ "Royal felicitates Olympic Shuttler Niluka". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 31 May 2012.
  38. ↑ "Sri Lanka Olympic captaincy row". BBC News. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  39. ↑ "SLBA says a disciplinary inquiry will be held against badminton champion". newsfirst.lk. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  40. ↑ "Fighting spirit on display in badminton". Sunday Observer. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
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