Sri Lanka’s badminton champion shuttler Viren Nettasinghe went down fighting in a hard-fought three-set encounter against Indonesia’s Zaki Ubaidillah in the pre-quarterfinals of the Iksan Victor Korea Masters Badminton Tournament, played at the Wonkwang University Cultural and Sports Centre in Jeonbuk State, South Korea, yesterday.
The 22-year-old Olympian Nettasinghe, currently ranked 68th in the world, faced the world No. 59 Zaki in a closely contested match that lasted 68 minutes. The Indonesian took the opening set 21–16, but Nettasinghe bounced back strongly to level the game, winning the second set 21–16. However, Ubaidillah dominated the decider to claim the third set 21–14 and advance to the quarterfinals.
Earlier, in the round of 32, Nettasinghe produced an impressive performance to defeat another Indonesian, world No. 44 Chico Aura Wardoyo, in a thrilling three-setter. After losing the first set 14–21, the Sri Lankan No. 1 shuttler fought back to win the next two sets 22–20 and 21–9, sealing a 2–1 victory in a match that lasted 60 minutes.
Despite his exit in the pre-quarterfinals, Nettasinghe’s strong performances against two higher-ranked Indonesian opponents provided him with valuable experience and confidence on the international stage.
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