Tharjini Sivalingam retires from international netball

Sri Lanka’s netball star Tharjini Sivalingam has retired from international netball competition.

"For many years I have contributed to the success of netball in Sri Lanka. Now I am 45 years old. No female player in Asia has been involved in netball as long as I have. I have decided to retire from Sri Lanka netball after the 2023 World Championship Netball," Sivalingam, one of the most recognised players in the international netball arena, told the "Daily Mirror" from Cape Town, South Africa.

"Even if the netball team leaves for Sri Lanka tomorrow (8), I will not come back to Sri Lanka with them. Although I say goodbye to international netball, I will definitely participate in club netball in Australia. And I will never forget Sri Lanka. Representing Sri Lanka is the reason is that I am a world-renowned netball player," she said.

Sivalingam has participated in many international tournaments including five Asian Netball Championship (2009, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2022) and four Netball World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023) and she once led the Sri Lanka team at the Asian Netball Championship.

"I only got to train with the Sri Lankan team during the training matches held in Botswana before the World Cup. Also, I played to the best of my abilities in the two World Cup matches that I participated in," she said.

Sivalingam won the World Best Shooter Award in the 2011 Netball World Cup and the Asian Best Shooting Award in 2009 and 2012.

(Susil Premalal)