Tharjini’s army on the rampage in Singapore
Sri Lanka's weapon of distruction - Tharijini Shivalingam (R) scores
Meet hosts Singapore in the final today
Dominant Sri Lanka put themselves within sight of that elusive crown after they registered a fighting 55-46 win over spirited Hong Kong in the semi-finals of the Asian Netball Championships played at the OCBC Arena in Singapore yesterday.
The victory also ensured
Sri Lanka’s passage to next year’s World Cup in Liverpool in England. Along with Sri Lanka is Singapore who beat Malaysia 51-43 in the second semi-finals to send the defending champions crashing out of the finals.
The finals between Sri Lanka and Singapore will be played today at 1.30 local time.
Sri Lanka’s so far dominant performance has given the side much needed confidence ahead of today’s final.
“I think the confidence levels are very high and we are very positive of winning the title,” said coach Thilaka Jinadasa who was also Sri Lanka’s coach when Sri Lanka last won the title in 2009. “The girls have been playing exceptionally well right through the tournament and it’s a matter of putting the finishing touches to a excellent campaign.”
The undefeated Sri Lanka conceded the first quarter 13-14 but put on a strong performance in the next three quarters to earn a place in the final with the 2.08-metre goal shooter Tharjini Sivalingam standing Hong Kong’s way. At the end of the half way mark Sri Lanka took a four point lead–28-24 with skipper Chathurangi Jayasinghe and Gayani Dissanayake starring.
Sri Lanka’s plan was however simple–get the ball to the shooter and this was all what the rest of the players did. Hong Kong though kicked out of the finals, played smartly right through the game except matching the height of Lankan giant. Sri Lanka increased the lead further in the third quarter playing more aggressively to finish on 40-34.
Sri Lanka are the only unbeaten side in the tournament having won all of their respective matches in the run-up to the final. They beat Chinese Taipei 137-05, India 101-09 in the first round matches before they faced off the challenges of Singapore 58-37, Malaysia 62-59 and Hong Kong 71-48 in the second round.
Coach Thilaka Jinadasa talks to the Lankan lasses during the break