Pathmasiri Niroshan Bandara Wijekoon (born February 10, 1964) is a Sri Lankan Olympian and the first

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player to represent

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Wijekoon held the Sri Lankan National Badminton Championships singles title for nine years (1983–1987 and 1989–1992).

Family and early life

Wijekoon is the son of former Minister, MP, Ambassador and Presidential Candidate Ukku Banda Wijekoon. Wijekoon had his education at St. Thomas' College, Bandarawela and

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

Career

Wijekoon made his debut in Sri Lankan National Badminton Championships in 1975 as an 11-year-old and went on to win 28 titles; 9 singles, 12 doubles and 7 mixed doubles. He won his first singles title in 1983 as an 18-year-old from

. Wijekoon has represented Sri Lanka at three Asian Games and two Commonwealth Games with his greatest achievement being representing Sri Lanka at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In 1984, he beat Singaporean no. 1 at the Thomas Cup and was the first Sri Lankan to win a singles match in a Thomas Cup game. In 1992, Wijekoon beat the Indian No 1 at the

Portugal Open The Portugal Open (formerly named Estoril Open) was an ATP and WTA clay court tennis tournament in Portugal. The event took place at the sports complex of Jamor in Oeiras, of which Estoril Court Central is the most prominent show court. In 20 ...

. Wijekoon competed at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in the men's singles. He lost in the first round to Hannes Fuchs, of Austria, 15-9, 15-11. In his home country he won several national championships. He also participated the World Badminton Championships in 1989 in the men's singles losing to

Kim Hak-kyun Kim Hak-kyun (; born November 15, 1971) is a retired male badminton player from South Korea. Career Kim competed in badminton at the 1992 Summer Olympics in men's singles. He lost in quarterfinals to Alan Budikusuma Alexander Alan Budikusu ...

of South Korea 7:15 and 7:15. In his home country, he won nine titles in the men's singles at the Sri Lankan National Badminton Championships between 1983 and 1992.

Retirement and later years

Although the grace of the younger days are fading Wijekoon has no thoughts of hanging the boots. Even now, as Director of the stock brokering firm Asia Securities he still plays in Sri Lankan National Badminton Championships, making his 32nd appearance in 2007. At the age of 38, unseeded Wijekoon beat the bottom seeded Udaya Wanigasinghe to make a long due singles quarter finals berth. In 2007, at the age of 43, he stretched as far as the semi-finals in doubles, beating the second seed on the way.

Achievements

IBF International

''Men's singles''

References

*
lankanewspapers.comdailynews.lkDaily News 2008.07.14Portuguese International 1992

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wijekoon, Niroshana Sri Lankan male badminton players Olympic badminton players for Sri Lanka Badminton players at the 1992 Summer Olympics 1964 births Living people Badminton players at the 1986 Asian Games Badminton players at the 1990 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Sri Lanka 20th-century Sri Lankan people 21st-century Sri Lankan people Place of birth missing (living people)