Badminton Olympian Niluka hangs up his racquet

Sri Lanka badminton Olympian Niluka Karunarathna has officially announced his retirement from international sports today.

He retired from the local Badminton game two years ago after winning the Badminton Nationals for the 17th time.

Niluka Karunaratne, who has represented Sri Lanka at three consecutive Olympic Games (2012 London, 2016 Rio and 2022 Tokyo) will also make history as the only player who has represented the most international tournaments.

Karunaratne, 38, has been playing badminton since the age of eight.

At the age of 15, Niluka Karunaratne, who was selected to represent Sri Lanka at the Asian Badminton Championship held in Jakarta for the first time in 2000, has won 34 international medals. (Susil Premalal)