Asian Sevens 2017: Ranjan and Chandmial tipped to tour South Korea

By Shamseer Jaleel

The Sri Lanka Sevens rugby squad currently training in Colombo was whittled down to 16 players with the final squad to tour South Korea for the second leg of the Asian Sevens 2017, which will be worked off on 23 and 24 September at the Namdong Asiad Rugby Stadium in Seoul, to be named later this week.

Injured player Dhanushka Ranjan is fit for the tour while Chanaka Chandimal, who missed out on the Hong Kong leg due to an illness, is also in good health. Both these players are likely to make it to South Korea. This will push the national selectors to omit two players. The only surprise selection in the 16 is that of Srinarath Sooriyabandara, who comes into the squad after a long layoff while Dharmapala too is in the 16 but very unlikely to make it into the final 12 due to his neck injury.

Sri Lanka, under the leadership of Sudharshana Muthuthanthri, did well with the younger outfit to finish fifth and claim the Plate in Hong Kong last week. Former Thomian skipper Naveen Heenakankanmge stood out in his debut tour with the senior Sevens outfit. The team, which will set off for South Korea on 20 September, is coached by New Zealander Peter Woods.

Men: Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taipei.

Women: Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.