Badminton: National Championships 2020 from February 17-21

Originally planned to be held from February 10 to 14, the Badminton Nationals 2020 will now take place after a week of postponement from February 17 to 21 at two venues in Colombo.

Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB) announced that their premier event, the Badminton Nationals will be held at the SLB and Mercantile Badminton Association (MBA) courts, as successfully done with the Lanka Shuttle Challenge 2020 in December. 

The event usually draws in excess of 1,000 participants but this year's event will be restricted to competitors over 15 years of age, who will be accommodated in the Open category. 

SLB will treat this as a closed-door event and strict accreditation will be enforced to limit numbers within the court premises. 

The event will not lack for glamour and interest, as Sri Lanka's top players and a string of die-hard badminton enthusiasts will vie to take the challenge and honours. 

The reigning men's champion, Niluka Karunaratne, will take time off from his Olympic qualifying campaign to defend his crown while Dilmi Dias will seek to retain her hard-won title returning to the game after a lay-off to focus on her studies as the defending women's champion. 

Karunaratne, who is presently under quarantine after he was tested positive for COVID-19, is expected to be fit for the Nationals, according to SLB sources. 

SLB had conducted PCR tests on all national players but others have reported negative.

Li Ning and the McLarens Group stays with the sport as primary sponsors.