Badminton: Lankan-born Dharshana wins two Silvers at USA Seniors

Former National Badminton player turned coach, Dharshana Fernando, recently participated in an International Senior Badminton Tournament in Los Angeles, USA, organised by the USA Badminton Association. 

It is one of the largest tournaments organised by the Association and the competition was of a very high standard. 

Fernando was able to win 2 Silver medals at this event. 

He won a silver in the 55+ age category. 

He lost in the final to a Malaysian, after a grueling 3-Setter, which was a close game. 

He also won Silver in the 50+ age category. 

Fernando said the systematic training he learned in his youth, has helped him to win back-to-back medals, even at international tournaments, considering his age. 

He went on to say that he wanted to show his students that, what he learned 50 years ago is still relevant in modern Badminton, adding that, though he has incorporated new training techniques and coaching methods, he still believes the basics are the same. 

He is known as Coach Fernando in Canada, where he currently lives, and is a National Coaching Certification Programme, certified coach in Canada. 

He runs one of the largest Badminton Training Schools in the whole of North America, with over 200 students and has a dozen coaches and instructors to assist him. 

Furthermore, he is also an internationally renowned coach, having conducted coaching programmes in more than 25 countries, including Costa Rica, Colombia, Vietnam, Denmark, the UK, the USA and the Czech Republic to name a few.