Entries called for All-Island Open badminton

From left: Thilina Danthasingha (General Manager – SLB), Chandrika De Silva (President – NCPBA), Roshan Gunawardana (President – SLB), Ajith Wijayasingha (Secretary – SLB) and Jaliya Jayasekara (Assistant Secretary – SLB)

By Susil Premalal

The North Central Province Badminton Association (NCPBA) has officially opened entries for the NCPBA All-Island Open Badminton Championships 2025, set to take place from August 18 to 24 at the Sports Department Indoor Stadium and Mike Cooke Indoor Stadium in Anuradhapura.

This highly anticipated seven-day tournament, classified as a National Ranking Level 1 event by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), is expected to draw the country’s top-ranked Shuttlers competing across a range of age categories. 

Organised by NCPBA under SLB’s sanction, the tournament will host matches in junior divisions from Under-11 to Under-19 and senior categories from Over-30 to Over-70, including three combined veterans’ events (100+ age group).

The highlight of the tournament will be the Open events, which include Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles. First-round losers in the Men’s and Women’s Singles will automatically be placed in a Plate segment, giving players an additional opportunity to compete.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for August 18 at 9:00 am followed by preliminary rounds, with quarter-finals and semi-finals set for August 22. The semi-finals and finals will take place on August 23 and 24, leading to a grand closing ceremony.

Seedings will be determined based on the SLB Rankings as of August 11, and the official draw will be held on August 13 at the Sri Lanka Badminton Headquarters in Colombo. Entries must be submitted by August 8 at noon, either online or by contacting Ajith (0773011800) or Himasha (0740121846).

A total prize pool of Rs. 750,000, trophies, medals and certificates await winners, runners-up, and semi-finalists. Junior champions will receive special gift items in place of cash awards according to the organisers.