Sri Lankan seniors win silver

Silver medal winners from left: Nadeesha Gayanthi, Niluka Karunaratne, and Chandrika de Silva  

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka enjoyed a historic outing at the BWF World Senior Championships 2025, clinching three silver medals at the prestigious tournament held at the Eastern National Sports Training Centre in Pattaya, Thailand. 

The achievement marks one of Sri Lanka’s best collective performances at a BWF World Senior Championships, signalling the nation’s growing presence on the global senior badminton stage.

In the women’s Singles 50 final, former national star Chandrika de Silva put up a spirited fight but narrowly missed out on gold, going down to Denmark’s Janne Vang Nielsen in straight sets 19–21, 21–23 in a tense and thrilling contest. Sri Lanka’s badminton Olympian Niluka Karunaratne added yet another memorable moment to his career by reaching the men’s Singles 35 final. Despite a strong comeback in the second game, he fell short against Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon, losing 6–21, 21–9, 18–21 in a three-set thriller.

Sri Lanka’s third medal came in the Mixed Doubles 40 final, where Nadeesha Gayanthi paired with Indonesia’s Unang Rahmat to secure a hard-earned silver medal. The duo fought bravely before going down to M. Muhammad and J. Patrick 18–21, 11–21 in the title clash.

All three medalists were sponsored by McLarens Holdings, whose continuous support plays a key role in developing Sri Lankan badminton talent.