Thilina and Panchali regain form to emerge PDBA Open Badminton champions

THILINA Rajakaruna and Panchali Adhikari shuttled their way to emerge as Men's and Women's Open Singles champs at the Puttalam District All-Island Open Badminton Championships 2025, which concluded at the Sir Albert F. Peiris Indoor Sports Complex in Wennappuwa yesterday.

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Thilina shocked top seed and firm favourite Aashinsa Herath to clinch the Men's Singles title, while Panchali totally outsmarted double crown Praveena Wijesundara in straight sets to pocket the Women's Singles crown.

Aashinsa made a solid start by recording an easy 21/13 win against Thilina in the first set of the crucial final, but the spirited shuttler made a grand recovery to totally dominate the next two sets by 21/16 and 21/14, leaving no stones unturned on his way to clinch the Men's Open Singles title. Panchali, on the other hand, had very little trouble against Praveena, who was comprehensively beaten in straight sets by 21/10 and 21/14 in the Women's Open Singles final.

Earlier on, the paring of Aashinsa Herath and Alan Kristanto had completed their mission to beat Dinuru Priyashantha and Siyath Senaratne by 2-1 to win the Men's Open Doubles title. Even Praveena had laid the foundation for a possible double crown, when she partnered with Anurangi Masakorala to beat Vinuthi Ranasinghe and Yenara Wickramasinghe in straight sets to claim the Women's Open Doubles title. Praveen then earned a double by claiming the Mixed Open Doubles title partnered with Achinthya Imesha, as they beat the pair of Thulith Palliyaguru and eventual Singles winner Panchali Adhikari in straight sets, despite being challenged heavily in the second set. The Men's Plate Singles title went to Duviyn Jayakody, who received a walkover from Samuditha Rathnayaka in the final.