Return of seniors will boost Sri Lanka’s netball hopes
The Sri Lanka Netball Federation will be making every effort to send a strong team to compete in the forthcoming Asian Netball Championship.
Domestic competitions held during the recent past has proved that Sri Lanka can benefit from seniors at international stage - File pic
“Return of the senior players who kept away from playing will no doubt boost the morale of Sri Lanka national netball team in preparation for the ninth edition of the Asian Netball championship. The unity and corporation shown by both seniors and juniors is an indication of their courage and determination that the lasses have in seeing the Sri Lankan national flag fly high at the games” revealed Victoria Lakshmi chairperson of the interim committee of Sri Lanka Netball Federation when contacted by the Sunday Times.
In preparation for the ninth Asian Netball Championship to be held in Singapore from September 7 -14, pool practices commenced in November last year with a pool of 45 selected players. After two trials held last Friday and Saturday, 15 players were selected from which the final 12 will be picked after one and half months of practices. Eleven teams from Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Vietnam and host Singapore will fight it out for supremacy. It is expected to be a three cornered tussle between Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Speaking further the chairperson stated she is delighted to get back the services of the senior players who kept away for two years for different reasons. “Our side is rich in experience and even the junior players in the final pool have represented the country at international level at least once,” she stressed. Lakshmi hopes that the return of the seniors in the caliber of Shashikala Samarasinghe, Tharjanee Sivalingam, Kumarin Silva and former junior captain Shereen Nugera will be an asset for the team as well as for the country. “Their combination with the juniors along with their guidance and advices will enable Sri Lanka to give an unexpected challenge to the opposing sides,” she concluded.
The return of the seniors should be commended in order to render their services to the motherland and every Sri Lankan is bound to rally around the netball team with the hope that in 2014 the Asian champions will be Sri Lanka, the tear drop shaped island in the Indian Ocean.