Tharjini offers to rebuild Sri Lanka Netball

By Susil Premalal

• Former Sri Lanka ace goal shooter Tharjini Sivalingam said she is ready to coach the national netball team if the governing body invites her.

The former Sri Lanka World Cup star, currently representing the league tournament in Australia as a player cum coach, made these observations on the sidelines of the 13th Asian Senior Netball Championships 2024, held in Bengaluru, India.

Sri Lanka’s campaign at this event ended in a disappointing manner. They suffered a shock defeat to former champions Singapore in the final, which was stretched into overtime for the first time in the tournament's history.

“I have only a Level 1 coaching certificate, which is insufficient to coach a national side although I have represented the country at the highest level for more than 20 years,” Tharjini told the Daily Mirror.

“I am planning to obtain the Level 2 and Level 3 coaching certificates shortly and take up the challenge of coaching the Sri Lanka Netball Team,” Tharjini emphasised.

Tharjini, who has represented the country at four Netball World Cups and five Asian Netball Championships, decided to step down from the national team after the 2023 Cape Town World Cup in South Africa.

The Australia-based Tharjini along with her Indian husband R.Prasad was present at the opening encounter and at the final match of the tournament.

Prasad, who is a business partner in India and Australia, provided travelling bags and mineral water for the Sri Lankan players and the officials throughout the tournament.

“I think the final was a bitter experience for both Sri Lanka and Singapore players because this was the first time that the final went into overtime,” Tharjini stressed.

“It was unfortunate to see the final match slipping away from the Sri Lankan Team and the team management should take up the responsibility for this setback,” she elaborated.

“I think our national coach was lacking in experience even though she had enough experience at the domestic and international level,” Tharjini lamented.

“I think the national team went through a series of preparations at home for a few months but the players were starved of valuable international match exposure,” she pointed out.

“In contrast, Singapore were well prepared for this tournament as they had enough international exposure well in advance,” Tharjini added.

Tarjini, born on 30 December 1978, is a former Sri Lankan veteran netball player and former skipper of the Sri Lankan national netball team.

With her staggering height of 210cm or six feet 10.5 in she has been recognised as one of the most successful shooters of all time and is often regarded as the tallest netball player ever.

She is the most capped international netball player to represent Sri Lanka. She has been a regular member of the Sri Lanka national team in international netball tournaments since making her debut in 2009.

She is well known for her unusually tall height and is considered one of the marquee players in Sri Lankan netball history.