The University of Sri Jayawardenapura clinched a double title win at the Inter University Badminton Championships played out at the University of Kelaniya gymnasium.
The Women's team led by Hasara Wijayaratne had a dominant run throughout the whole event winning both their games in the opening round including against eventual champions, the University of Colombo. The other ound winners were the University of Peradeniya, the University of Ruhuna and the University of Kelaniya with both teams advancing to the quarterfinals with perfect records.
The Women's Quarterfinals, however saw some of these group leaders with the Universities of Ruhuna and the University of Peradeniya going down to Sabaragamuwa and Colombo respectively. They were joined in semifinals by Colombo and Kelaniya.
The women's semifinals would set up a meeting of two teams that had already met in the group stages as Japura and Colombo advanced to the finals beating Sabra and Kelaniya respectively.
Before the finals it was the turn of the teams to fight for third place as Kelaniya took on Sabaragamuwa. It was Sabaragamuwa who took the early intitiative with two consecutive victories in the singles events to take a 2-0 lead before Kelaniya hit back. However, Sabra would clinch it in the first doubles match, cementing themselves as the second Runners up
The gold medal match between Japura and Colombo had all the makings of a blockbuster as the previous encounter between the teams had been decided by the barest of margins, 3-2. The final would prove to be a close contest as well, and it was once again Japura who came out on top, although this time it was by the more convincing margin of 3-0 as they won all 3 matches in straight sets
The Men's event saw two dominant teams in the Universities of Sri Jayawardenapura and Kelaniya who swept away the competition all the way to the finals. Both teams along with the Universities of Ruhuna and Peradeniya topped the tables, similar to the Women's section.
It was a similar story in the quarterfinals as both Pera and Ruhuna went out but this time Moratuwa and Colombo respectively. The semifinals saw dominant displays as Kelaniya dispatched Colombo 3-0 and Japura won with the same scorelines against Moratuwa.
The third place match between Colombo and Moratuwa was another close run affair with both teams exchanging wins before Colombo would seal the deal with two wins in their next two matches. The final between Japura (led by Mahen Samaranayake) and Kelaniya (led by Wishwa Wijesooriya) was another humdinger
Backed by a vocieferous home crowd, Kelaniya were up for for the challenge and the very first set of the match saw a ferocious contest as both teams exchanged points. Ultimately it was Japura who came on top in that set with a 26-24 win and they kept up the momentum, winning the second set as well to take a 1-0 lead.
The second match was another straight sets win for Japura and Kelaniya were on the brink, needing to win all 3 of their remaining matches to win the title. And their comeback would get off to the perfect start, hitting back immediately as the crowd sensed that something special was happening, especially with a formidable doubles pair in the ranks.
However, Japura doused those hopes sytaught away clinching victory after a well fought match in the doubles. Kelaniya themselves can be very proud of their efforts as they fought valiantly every step of the way to take home a well deserved runners up trophy.
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