Sri Lanka face Philippines in Asian Netball opener

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka will launch their defence for the 13th Asian Senior Netball Championship 2024 with a Group ‘A’ fixture against the Philippines at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, India today.  

 The Sri Lanka Netball Team led by the experienced Dulangi Wannithilaka participated in the opening ceremony of the tournament yesterday.    

14 teams are vying for honours in this tournament, which is conducted by Asia Netball and the Indian Netball Federation with the final scheduled for October 27.

The other teams competing in Group ‘A’ are Malaysia, Maldives, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia while Group ‘B’ includes the last time runners-up Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Iraq and Bahrain.

Sri Lanka’s second match of the tournament will be against Saudi Arabia on October 19, followed by the fixtures against India on October 20, Japan on October 22, Malaysia on October 23 and Malaysia on October 25.

“I think with our experience and talent we should be able to overcome this first-round hurdle more convincingly,” Sri Lanka Team Coach P. D. N. Prasadi told the Daily Mirror yesterday.  
“We had a couple of training sessions since our arrival in Bengaluru and the girls are fit and ready to face any opposition,” Prasadi stressed.   

The Sri Lanka Netball Team is studded with two former national captains, seven experienced players and five talented newcomers.

Sri Lanka are hoping to retain the Asian Senior Netball Championship for the third successive occasion having emerged champions in 1989, 1997, 2001, 2009, 2018 and 2022.
In addition, they were runners-up of the tournament in 1985, 2012, 2014 and 2016 while they were placed third in 1993 and 2005.