Chethiya leads Sri Lanka Youth to Taipei

Asia Rugby Championship Under 19

Sri Lanka Youth Rugby outfit will be touring to Taipei later this week in order to participate at the Asia Rugby

GamunuChethiya will lead the Sri Lanka Under 19 team

Under 19 outfit Coach Dushantha Lewke

Championship under 19 tournament which will take place at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. Defending champions, Hong Kong are favoured to pull it off who will play alongside Sri Lanka, Taipei and Korea in the group format event.

Sri Lanka Youth outfit under the watchful eyes of Head Coach, Dushantha Lewke and Assistant Coach, Mohamed Mustaq will have no excuses as the team is together for the last two months and ample preparation for the tour with coaching camps being held around the country. Out of the 27 players selected majority (eight) are from Royal while Joes having the second highest with four of them.

Former Joes player Gemunu Chethiya heads the team with some outstanding players such as Janidu Dilshan (Royal), Vishwa Ranaraja (Trinity) and Mohamed Shabeer (St. Anthony’s Kandy) included in the 27 member touring squad. On record Sri Lanka have come closer to beating Hong Kong Youths outfit at the Under 19 event but ended as a yard slower than them.

Sri Lanka will play Taipei (12 December), Hong Kong (15 December) and Korea (18 December) in the league format encounters. Taipei leg 4th placed team will be demoted for the 2019 events. Winner of Taipei leg will represent Asia at the Junior World Rugby Tournament Division I in Argentina during early 2019.

Gemunu Chethiya (Capt.), Tharindu De Alwis, Shan Akila, Keshan Kavinda (all from St. Joseph’s), Praveenda Wijethilake and Vishwa Ranaraja (both from Trinity), Himantha Hirushan, Ifham Fareed, Fadhil Adhan, Visitha Kavinjana, Maleesha Maduwan, Mubeen Faleel, Kalindu Nandila and Janidu Dilshan (all from Royal), Rashmika Chandrarathne (Kingswood), Adeesha Handunpathirana (St. Thomas), Julian Charles, Jason Karunaratne and Rukshan Madushanka (St. Peters), Mohamed Sabeer, Ishara Liyanage (both from St. Anthony’s), Dayan Sabar, Sabar, Ishara Herath (Maliyadeva), Ravindu Anjula (Isipathana), Tuan Zamil (Lumbini) and Tharindu Hettiarachchi (Vidyartha) 

Head Coach Dushantha Lewke

Assistant Coach/Team Manager Mohamed Mushtaq

Meanwhile the Division I will take place between Singapore, China, Philippines and Thailand. This event will take place in Thailand. The winners of this event will be promoted to top. (SJ)