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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
General Interest | |
| Injuries | In his attempts to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he fell ill because of overtraining and spent more than two months in hospital recovering. (sundaytimes.lk, 26 Feb 2012) In 2006 he suffered an ankle injury that prevented him from training for six months. (sundayobserver.lk, 23 Dec 2007) |
| Famous relatives | His brothers Diluka and Dinuka have both represented Sri Lanka in badminton. Dinuka reached the men's singles quarterfinals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, and competed at the 2022 Swedish Open in Uppsala, while Diluka competed at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. His brother Chamika represented Sri Lanka in badminton at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Taipei, Chinese Taipei, and cricket at senior international level at the 2021 T20 World Cup. His father Louis has played and coached badminton at national level in Sri Lanka, and also competed in cricket at first-class level in the country. His wife Poorni Shehara Pathiraja is a TV presenter in Sri Lanka. (SportsDeskOnline, 27 Jan 2022; Poorni Shehara Pathiraja Instagram profile, 03 Jan 2022; Instagram profile, 25 Dec 2021; sportstar.thehindu.com, 19 Jul 2021; espncricinfo.com, 13 Mar 2014; sundaytimes.lk, 26 Feb 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His father Louis, a national badminton player and coach, introduced him to the sport. "My father took me to watch some matches and even coaching sessions for his players when I was very young. That made badminton my passion from an early age. I played cricket at U15 level but I decided to try and master the sport of badminton and have played it ever since." |
| Handedness | Right |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began playing badminton at age eight at Dharmasoka College in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | His parents. (dailynews.lk, 12 Oct 2017) |
| Hero / Idol | US boxer Muhammad Ali, US basketball player Michael Jordan. (dailynews.lk, 12 Oct 2017) |
| Awards and honours | He was Sri Lanka's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (olympic.org, 27 Jul 2012) |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2000 |
| Competing for | Sri Lanka |
| Tournament | Asian Championships |
| Location | Jakarta, INA |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English, Sinhala |
General Interest | |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Competing in singles at the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016, and reaching the round of 16 at the 2012 Games in London. (dailynews.lk, 12 Oct 2017; Athlete, 09 Aug 2016; dailynews.lk, 14 Jun 2021) |
| Other sports | He has played cricket at national junior level in Sri Lanka. (dailynews.lk, 21 Jul 2016) |
| Other information | OTHER ACTIVITIES In October 2017 he was named as a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation [CGF] Athletes Advisory Commission. (insidethegames.biz, 03 Apr 2018; thecgf.com, 24 Oct 2017) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Colombo, SRI |
| Family | Wife Poorni Shehara Pathiraja, one daughter [2021] |