Badminton: Sri Lanka finish third in Group ‘F’ despite record win at World Junior Championship

Sri Lanka finished third in their group despite securing a remarkable win in the Mixed Team event at the 2024 BWF World Junior Championships, taking place in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.

Sri Lanka were drawn into Group ‘F’, alongside Indonesia, Poland, Macau, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and were pitted against Peru in their next encounter which will decide the 17th to 24th places in the prestigious championship.

The Sri Lankan team, comprising Thilina Rajakurana, Varangana Jayawardana, Rashmi Mudalige, Ranithma Liyanage, Shenuk Samararatne, and Thidasa Weragoda, dominated Macau in their opening Group ‘F’ tie with an emphatic 110-63 victory.

However, they faced a tough challenge against a strong Indonesian side, losing 62-110.

Their third match was a closely contested battle with Poland, where Sri Lanka narrowly lost 104-110.

Despite these setbacks, Sri Lanka made history with a record win against the Northern Mariana Islands, triumphing 110-45.

Under the tournament’s revolutionary relay scoring system, the trailing team is guaranteed a minimum of 45 points, making Sri Lanka’s margin of victory the biggest possible —a record that can only be equaled, never surpassed.

New Scoring System

The 2024 tournament is being played under a new relay scoring system, where each tie consists of 10 games, and the first team to reach 110 points wins the tie.

If a team is significantly behind, they are granted either their actual score or a minimum of 45 points, ensuring that no team finishes with fewer than 45 points in a tie.

Sri Lanka's strong performances earned them third place in Group ‘F’, behind unbeaten Indonesia and second-placed Poland.

Macau finished fourth, and the Northern Mariana Islands rounded out the group in fifth place.

With this third-place finish, Sri Lanka has qualified for the 17th-24th place play-offs, where they will face Peru on Thursday (3).

The tournament will conclude on Saturday (5) at the Nanchang International Sports Centre.