Asian Sevens 2017 Sri Lanka in tough group

By Shamseer Jaleel

The Sri Lanka Sevens outfit under Sudharshan Muthuthanthri will leave the island on 20 September to South Korea for the second leg of the Asian Sevens 2017, which will be worked off at the Namdong Stadium on 23 and 24 September. 

Sri Lanka finished fifth in the first leg in Hong Kong with the majority of their players being young, with four of them making their Sevens debut for the country.

The going will be tough once again for Sri Lanka but the good news is the return of former Sevens skipper Dhanushka Ranjan and the experienced Chanaka Chandimal to the touring squad. Both players missed out on the first leg as Ranjan was suffering from a shoulder injury and Chandimal was out due to illness. But the minus point is that they will once again need to see off Asian giants Japan, the winners of the first leg, in the opening game of the tournament. 

If Sri Lanka is to book their semifinal berth they will need to overcome the much improved Chinese outfit. China got the better of the Lankans in the first leg in Hong Kong. Taipei could be the target of the other three teams as they look the weakest outfit in the tournament. If Sri Lanka ends second they will book a date with Hong Kong in the semifinals. Sri Lanka has always been on the back foot against the physical Hong Kong and they will once again pose the Lankans a tough challenge. The only time Sri Lanka has come close was at last year’s Asian Sevens in Hong Kong under Dhanushka Ranjan when a knock-on was awarded as a try for the hosts Hong Kong, who finished as winners. 

Considering the investment in Sevens rugby, Sri Lanka can be proud of the achievement in such a short span of time under the watchful eyes of Sri Lanka Rugby High Performance Director Inthi Marikar.

The second leg in South Korea will see eight women’s teams battling it out for the cup. The Sri Lankan girls, who did remarkably well to win the Borneo Sevens, will be expecting a good finish and will be well prepared for the home leg in Colombo in mid-October.

Men’s

Group A - Japan, China, Sri Lanka and Taipei

Group B - Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea

Women’s

Group C - Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Kazakhstan

Group D - China, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and South Korea