Niluka Karunaratne
Karunaratne at the 2012 Summer Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 13 February 1985 Galle, Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Badminton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Louie Karunaratne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 34 (27 June 2013) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BWF profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Niluka Karunaratne (Sinhala: නිලූක කරුණාරත්න; Tamil: நிலுக கருணாரத்ன) (born 13 February 1985) is a Sri Lankan badminton player who has competed at the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and 2020. His father Louie Karunaratne and brothers Dinuka Karunaratne, Chamika Karunaratne (also a cricketer) and Diluka Karunaratne are also professional badminton players. He is currently regarded as the number one premiere badminton player in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka's most decorated badminton player with a record 21 medals to his name at international events including 9 gold medals. He also holds the unique distinction of winning five gold medals in five different continents. He reached his higher career singles ranking of 34 in June 2013, which is also the personal best ranking by a Sri Lankan badminton player. He has also emerged as national badminton champion for record 17 times, the most by a Sri Lankan badminton player. Despite his achievements in the sport, he was also sidelined for disciplinary issues on few occasions.