The 25th edition held from October 6th to 11th at the National Centre of Excellence in Amingaon, Guwahati, the event saw 36 top badminton-playing nations vying for honours.
Sri Lanka secured the 12th position, their best thus far in world mixed team events, with three wins and as many losses from their six outings as China grabbed the gold medal, pushing defending champions Indonesia to second position.
Japan and hosts India shared the bronze medal, as team Sri Lanka secured two group round wins from three games to record a perfect start.
Sri Lanka secured a 2-1 win against United Arab Emirates, after losing the first round by 30-45 to bounce back with remarkable wins of 45-34 and 45-44.
They faced a straight defeat at the hands of India by 27-45 and 28-45 before making a strong comeback against Nepal, who were thrashed by Sri Lankan shuttlers by 45-21 and 45-28 to reach the quarter-finals of the Position 9-16. With a 2-1 win against Poland, with scores of 45-37, 34-45 and 45-26, Sri Lanka moved to face the Philippines in the semi-final as they suffered a straight loss after a strong battle (40-45, 41-45) to book the berth the final of the Position 11-12 against Turkey.
With a straight loss with scores of 37-45 and 36-45 against a strong Turkey side, Sri Lanka secured the overall 12th position out of 36 nations, their best achievement in the recent history.
Sri Lanka finished ahead of other top contenders in world badminton viz Denmark, Canada, Poland, Hong Kong, Australia, England, Singapore and Romania to name a few, who possess stronger development programmes to elevate their standards in badminton.
The thriving Sri Lanka team was represented by male shuttlers Sanuda Ariyasinghe, Keneth Aruggoda, Thisath Rupathunga and female shuttlers Sandathi Hewagallage, Pawani Illeperuma and star player Ranithma Liyanage.
The outcome comes as a result of continuous and consistent training policies adopted at grassroots level in the recent years under former Sri Lanka Badminton President, Mr. Rohan de Silva, whose vision is being successfully carried forward by the incumbent President Mr. Roshan Gunawardena, who aims to achieve even greater heights.