Dubai: Former Sri Lanka badminton champion Sriyani Deepika hopes to inspire UAE-based players after winning a gold medal in the women’s singles Seniors 50+ division at the Las Vegas World Chinese Invitational Badminton Tournament held from July 20-22.
Organised by the World Chinese Badminton Federation — United States Branch under the aegis of USA Badminton, Deepika displayed great skill and stamina to defeat veteran Chinese players in the singles in addition to bagging a bronze medal in the 50+ Mixed Doubles event partnering Sri Lankan Anura Krishantha.
“It was a dream come true and a result of my hard work and dedication to the sport which I have been playing since I was 12,” Sriyani said.
She won all her three round-robin matches against Lili Cai 31-17, Liz hen Xu 31-13 and Rungrong Zeng 31-30 in the 50+ women’s singles. Partnering Krishantha, she overcame the pairing of John Wu and Xia Min Tang 31-28, Yong Li and Huang 31-17 and Andre Kristian and Jen Huang 31-30 in the 50+ mixed doubles, where she had to be content with a bronze after losing to the Chinese pair of Zhikun Cai and Guang Qin Tian 21-31 in the semi-finals.
“I hope my success will inspire more people to go for glory in these tournaments. There are many Indian veteran players in the UAE who are highly skilled and fit to compete on the international circuit,” said the Sri Lankan star who is a regular at BWF events.
Deepika is already preparing for an Open tournament to be held in Sri Lanka in November followed by another one in Poland next year.
