Former Shuttle Queen Chandrika De Silva wins Over-40 Silver
Former Sri Lanka Shuttle Queen Chandrika de Silva proved she had not lost her touch in Badminton, when she won Silver at the World Senior Badminton Championships in Kochin, India, recently.
Chandrika was the Women’s National champion for 11 consecutive years, and represented Sri Lanka at many international events. In age categories ranging from 35 to 70 years, 23 Sri Lankan Shuttlers took part in this Championship.
Chandrika went down fighting in the Women’s Over-40 Singles final which went to the wire.
She beat Indonesian Elisabeth Tjandra 2-0 (21-4, 21-15) in the quarterfinals. Her semifinal opponent Rebecca Pantaney from England withdrew from the match with an ankle injury.
In the final against German Claudia Vogelgsang, Chandrika used her experience to unsettle the German with powerful smashes and placements, but the German prevailed to win the 1st Set 21-16 in a close battle. It was Chandrika all the way in the 2nd Set, winning 21-10 with ease, as she never let the German to settle down and cut loose. However, Claudia Vogelgsang changed her pattern of play in the final Set and kept things under control, preventing Chandrika from gaining the upper hand, to beat her 21-14.
Another Sri Lankan, Rohini Jayawardene, partnering an Indonesian, won Bronze in the Over-60 Mixed Doubles.