Sri Lankan shuttlers and wrestlers show fighting spirit at Asian Youth Games 2025

SRI Lanka's spirited young athletes continued to fight with determination and pride at the Asian Youth Games (AYG) 2025 in Bahrain, with the nation's shuttlers and wrestlers producing gutsy performances against some of Asia's finest.

- By Shamseer Jaleel

Although the quest for Badminton and Wrestling medals came to an end, the effort and passion displayed by the teams reflected the steady rise of Sri Lanka's youth sports.

In Badminton Sri Lanka's medal hopes were pinned on Keneth Aruggoda and Pamududitha Randiligama, both of whom entered the pre-quarterfinals following impressive performances earlier in the tournament. The duo had played with confidence and consistency, defeating opponents from the Maldives and Cambodia to earn their spots among Asia's top 16.

However, the dream run came to an end in the knockout stage. Keneth Aruggoda fought valiantly against Maharishiel Gain of Indonesia in a thrilling three-set encounter. After splitting the first two sets 1/1, the final game went down to the wire before the experienced Indonesian gained the upper hand, edging past the Sri Lankan youngster to secure a 2/1 victory.

Meanwhile, Pamuditha Randiligama faced a formidable challenge in China's Leo Jing Yu, a technically refined player with strong international exposure. Despite Randiligama's early resistance and quick reflexes at the net, the Chinese shuttler maintained control throughout the match, sealing a straight-sets (2/0) victory to move forward to the quarterfinals.