South Korea and Arabian Gulf may also pull out

All the necessary arrangements are going at full steam for the Rugby Asiad which is just over a month away. The only cloud is the fact that South Korea and Arabian Gulf are unlikely to participate at this tournament. Chief Executive Officer of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) Dilroy Fernando told The Sunday Times: “Like Hong Kong, the domestic season for Arabian Gulf and South Korea runs from September to March. Thus it is unlikely they will be able to send a squad.”

Meanwhile, the Women's Sevens Tournament organized by the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union with the participation of 12 teams will be held at the Royal College Sports complex today. The first game is due to kick off at 8.30 a.m.

The following teams have confirmed participation at the tournament: Black Mares, Wild Cats, Army Sports Club, Slimline Sports Club, Synergy Sports Club, Rajarata Sports Club, D.B. Welegedera, Seethawaka Sports Club, Sabaragamuwa R.F.C, Moragane Maha Vidyalaya. Alawwa Maha Vidyalaya and Nochchiyagama R.F.C.

Alawwa Maha Vidyala and Nochchiyagama R.F.C. will be sending a Women's Team for the first time to participate in a Women's tournament in Sri Lanka.

The top two contenders are Slim Line and Army. Both teams have done extremely well in previous tournaments.

The first round matches will be played on a league basis and the final round will be on knock-out basis which will be in 4 categories - Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield.

The Cup finals are scheduled to kick-off at 5.15 p.m

Thereafter Fernando added: “There has also been a change for the Youth Asiad to be held in Brunei in December.. If we compete in the under 19 category as planned earlier, we will have to play in the ‘B’ Division. As such we have decided to play in the ‘A’ Division which means we will be looking at an under 20 squad. Japan has already qualified for the Youth World Cup. If we win this tournament we have a good chance of joining them. Thus we are hoping to select the pool some time this week.