Buwaneka claims silver at HUNDRED Series
Sri Lanka’s Buwaneka Goonethilleka had to settle in with a silver medal as Indonesia’s Jeland Fajar and Thailand’s Tidapron Kleebyeesun were crowned champions of the HUNDRED Sri Lanka International Series 2025, which concluded at the St. Joseph’s College Indoor Complex in Darley Road, Colombo.
Fajar was crowned as the Men’s Singles champion while Kleebyeesun emerged Women’s Singles winner as Japan topped the five-day competition with two gold medals, followed by Thailand, who claimed a gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Malaysia claimed a gold, a silver and two bronze medals as Indonesia won a gold and two bronze medals.
South Korea claimed a silver and three bronze medals, while Sri Lanka’s sole silver medal was clinched by Buwaneka, who won an international medal since 2019. India claimed a solitary bronze medal.
Sri Lanka pinned hopes on Buwaneka, who was the dark horse of the competition, but was outmaneuvered by Indonesian Fajar, who recorded his personal best performance at international level following a straight win the Men’s Singles final. Silver medalist Buwaneka had Fajar on the edge while leading both sets initially, but gave away points through unforced errors as the Indonesian won the final by 21/18 and 21/13 to earn the gold medal.
Thailand’s Tidapron Kleebyeesun returned to record a shocking 2-1 win against fellow compatriot Lalinrat Chaiwan to clinch the Women’s Singles title, after losing the first set 13/21. She made a resounding counterattack bag the gold winning the remaining sets 21/14 and 21/14.
In an all-Malaysian final, top seeds Bryan Goonting and Mohamad Fazriq defeated fellow compatriots Boon Zhe Goh and Vin Sean Wong 2-1 to win the Men’s Doubles title. After losing the first set 17/21 Goonting and Farziq responded by claiming the remaining two sets 21/16 and 21/18.
Japan claimed their second gold medal of the competition when Hina Osawa and Akari Sato teamed up to outsmart Min Ji Kim and Yu Jung Kim of South Korea 2-1 in the Women’s Doubles final. Osawa and Sato made a good start by winning the opening set 21/19, but the Koreans retaliated, winning the second set 21/17 to level the game. The Japanese pair overpowered their opponents in the final set 21/13.
Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Maya Taguchi took full control of the Mixed Doubles final against Ratchapol Makkasasithorn and Nattamon Laisuan of Thailand in straight sets to win their first gold earlier in the day. The Thai pair put very little pressure on the Japanese duo, who claimed an easy win by 21/15 and 21/16.
Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) hosted nearly 260 players from 16 nations, including Sri Lanka, at the five-day competition, where a total prize money of USD 5,000 was on offer. The international tournament, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation and Badminton Asia, was sponsored by HUNDRED, LiNing, Mobil, McFoil and 3M.