Dinuka Karunaratne

Edirimuni Dinuka Nishan Perera Karunaratne (Sinhala: දිනුක කරුණාරත්න; Tamil: தினுக கருணாரத்ன; born 6 October 1987) is a Sri Lankan badminton player.[1]

Dinuka Karunaratne
Personal information
Birth nameEdirimuni Dinuka Nishan Perera Karunaratne
CountrySri Lanka
Born (1987-10-06) 6 October 1987 (age 36)
Galle, Sri Lanka
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight69 kg (152 lb)
HandednessRight
Men's singles & doubles
Highest ranking79 (MS 4 December 2014)
90 (MD 26 August 2010)
Current ranking237 (MS), 556 (MD) (29 March 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
Silver medal – second place 2019 Kathmandu–Pokhara Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Dhaka Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Kathmandu–Pokhara Men's singles
BWF profile

Personal life

His father Louie Karunaratne and brothers Niluka Karunaratne and Diluka Karunaratne also a professional badminton players,[2] while his younger brother Chamika Karunaratne, was a badminton player and now a professional cricketer.[3]

Career

He started playing badminton at aged 7, then in 2004 and 2005 he won the boys' singles and doubles of the Sri Lankan Junior National Badminton Championships.[4][5] In 2007, he won the Jordan Satellite tournament in men's doubles event partnered with Niluka.[6] In 2008, he won his first national senior title in men's doubles event at the Sri Lankan National Badminton Championships. He also won the Uganda International and became the semi-finalist of the Iran Fajr International tournaments in men's doubles event paired with Diluka Karunaratne.[7][8]

In 2010, he became the champion of the Sri Lankan National Badminton Championships in men's singles event after defeated his teammate Eranga Fernando.[2][9] He also participated at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India.[10]

In 2011, he became the semi-finalist of Welsh International tournament in men's singles event.[11] In 2012, he won the Sri Lankan National Badminton Championships in men's doubles event and became the runner-up in men's singles event after beat by his own brother Niluka with scores 21-15, 22-20.[12] In September 2012, he competed at the Brazil International tournament in men's doubles event and finished in third place.[13]

In 2013, he won the Uganda International tournament in men's singles event beat Subhankar Dey of India 21-16, 21-17 in a game that lasted 34 minutes. Subhankar took the lead in the two games, but Dinuka's good game reading and clever net play was enough to win him the title.[14] He also became the runner-up of Bahrain International tournament defeated by Sameer Verma of India.[15]

In 2014, he defended his title in men's singles event at the Uganda International tournament after beating South Africa's Jacob Maliekal 2-0 (21-12, 21-15) in a highly supported game and also became the runner-up of the Bahrain International tournaments after defeated by Subhankar Dey of India 21-19, 13-21, 21-11.[16][17] He finished third at the Sri Lanka International tournament after losing a match to Anand Pawar of India in three games, 21-12, 15-21, 21-11.[18] He also competed in the men's singles and mixed team events at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and defeated by Daren Liew of Malaysia 21-19, 21-12 in round of 16. In the mixed team event, the Sri Lankan national badminton team defeated by England national badminton team 3-0, where he played in mixed doubles event partnered with Thilini Hendahewa lose to English paired Chris and Gabby Adcock 21-13, 21-10.[19] In 2016, he became the champion in the men's doubles event at the Uganda International tournament partnered with Niluka, after beat the Egyptian paired Ali Ahmed El Khateeb and Abdelrahman Kashkal 21-17, 21-17.[20]

In 2018, he made his fourth appearance at the Commonwealth Games, by competing in Gold Coast.[21]

In 2019, he competed at the South Asian Games in Nepal, won the silver medal in the team event, and the bronze medal in the singles event.[22]

References

External links