Kurunegala Girls Queens of School Netball
Two leading Girls’ schools in Kurunegala- Holy Family Convent (HFC) and Maliyadeva Balika emerged champions at the All-Island School Games Netball Tournament held at the Kurunegala Maliga ground. The tournament were conducted by the Ministry of Education and sponsored by Airtel Lanka Pvt. Ltd. The Under (U)-17 and U-19 competitions were won by HFC Kurunegala, while Maliyadeva Balika won the U-15 tournament.
Last year, HFC Kurunegala won the U-17 and U-19 titles, while Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo (Visakha) won the U-15 title. But this year, they lost to Maliyadeva Balika. Netball fans and coaches in Colombo allege the results in Kurunegala were pre-planned with the umpires having a hand in it. The ‘Best Player’ U-15 was Sanduni Vihara Madampe and U-17 was Susima Kumari of HFC Kurunegala, while U-19 was S.S. Sathya. Chief Guest on the final day was Minister of Education, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam.
RESULTS:
U-15 Final: Maliyadeva Balika beat HFC Kurunegala (14-12). Third Place: HFC Kalutara beat Visakha.
Semi-Finals: HFC Kurunegala beat HFC Kalutara (14-7); Maliyadeva Balika beat Visakha (16-13).
U-17 Final: HFC Kurunegala beat Hillwood High School Kandy (Hillwood) (21-13) Third Place: Visakha beat Girls High School (GHS) Kandy
Semi-Finals: Hillwood beat Visakha (21-19); HFC Kurunegala beat GHS Kandy 21-15.
U-19 Final: HFC Kurunegala beat Presbyterian Dehiwala (30-23). Third Place: Sacred Heart Convent (SHC) Galle beat Maliyadeva Balika
Semi-Finals: Presbyterian beat Maliyadeva Balika (28-21); HFC beat SHC Galle (33-8).