Visakha Colombo and Sujatha Nugegoda inaugurate new duel on March 29
The two principals and the two skippers of Visakha and Sujatha holding the Challenge Trophy
The inaugural Motwani Challenge Shield Netball encounter — the Battle of the Golds between Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo and Sujatha Vidyalaya Nugegoda, will be played at Race Course ground in Colombo on March 29 at 9.00am.
The inaugural Battle of the Gold event is hosted by Sujatha Vidyalaya Nugegoda and the responsibility of hosting will change from one to another annually. This is the curtain raiser match in the annual encounter which is planned to be held in the years to come between two leading girls schools in Sri Lanka.
The challenge shield is named after Clara Motwani who was the principal of both Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo and Sujatha Vidyalaya Nugegoda. Motwani served for 12 years as the principal of Visakha Vidyalaya and at Sujatha Vidyalaya for 23 long years as its founder principal. The decision to name the Challenge Shield after Clara Motwani is a unanimous decision by both schools.
Visakha Vidyalaya and Sujatha Vidyalaya has taken this initiative to set a precedent among girls’ schools in Sri Lanka to develop sports and inter-school sports encounters. Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo will be captained by Upani Roopasinghe while Lilasha Kaushalya Managoda will captain Sujatha Vidyalaya. Both teams are highly skilled with good players, posing threats to each other to win the Motwani Challenge Shield.
In addition to the main Battle of the Golds Netball match, the Under-17 teams from both schools will also play a netball match for the Under-17 Challenge Trophy. This will encourage the younger generation to participate more in the field of sports.
Sandamali Aviiruppola, the Visakha Principal and Pushpa Kalubowila, the Principal of Sujatha Vidyalaya held a press briefing at the Sri Lanka Foundation Auditorium and revealed that special awards will be made, including for the Best Player other than the challenge trophies.