Sri Lanka, Jan. 5 -- It is a pleasant coincidence that August 9 will remain auspicious in the annals of Sri Lankan badminton. For it is on this date, two years running that the island nation's athletes set two enviable records that will remain etched in its history.
On August 9, 2008, 23-year old Thilini Jayasinghe became the nation's first woman badminton player to qualify for an Olympic Games and exactly a year later to the day, two teenagers Achini Ratnasiri and Upuli Samanthika Weerasinghe won the nation's first gold medal in badminton at an Asian Championship.
The girls achieved this singular success at the 2009 Asian Under-16 Championship held in Colombo.
In fact, Sri Lankans will remember the most recent Championship for more than...