Unbeaten Sri Lanka look to extend dominance

By Pathum Sri Wijeratne reporting from Singapore

Sri Lanka would be hoping to extend their dominance when they confront Hong Kong in the 11th Asian Netball Championships first semi-final encounter at the OCBC Arena in Singapore tomorrow (8).

The 2009 champions would certainly start as the strong favourites following some outstanding performances where they have maintained an unbeaten record.

In addition, Sri Lanka will also have a psychological advantage going into the semi-final after having trounced the same opponents 71-48 earlier in their third Cup Segment fixture.

Sri Lanka’s performances in this outing will be of great significance as the Asian champions and the runners-up would qualify to compete in next year’s World Cup in Liverpool, England.

Sri Lanka of course started their campaign with two massive wins over Chinese Taipei (137-5) and India (101-29) during their preliminary round matches.

In the Cup Segment, Sri Lanka continued with their excellent form and went on to beat Singapore (58-37), Malaysia (62-59) and Hong Kong (71-48) respectively.

Sri Lanka have emerged as the most successful team so far in the Cup Segment Tournament with a maximum of six points from their three outings and with a goal average of 123.02.

The other significant fact is that Sri Lanka have accumulated a total of 207 goals while conceding only 168 goals to their opponents.

Meanwhile, Malaysia have emerged as the second best team in the competition so far, with a total of two points from their three outings while maintaining a goal average of 103.07.

Malaysia have also collected a total of 167 goals while conceding 161 goals to their opponents.

Singapore are placed third with a goal average of 92.07 followed by Hong Kong who have maintained a goal average of 81.05.

Tomorrow second semi-final will be between Singapore and Malaysia with the final scheduled for Sunday.