Medal-aspirant Sri Lankan Sevens leave to Indonesia

Saturday, 25 August 2018 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Asian Games 2018

By Shamseer Jaleel

Sri Lanka Sevens Rugby outfit under Sudharshana Muthuthanthri left the island today early morning for the 18th Asian Games which will take place in Indonesia from 31 August to 2 September.

Rugby was introduced in 1998 for the first time in the Asian Games, which took place in Bangkok. Japan won the 2010 event, beating Hong Kong 28/21, and South Korea beat Taipei 21/14. In the next games in 2014, Sri Lanka lost out on a medal when they were beaten by South Korea 17/14. Japan won that event. So far in the Rugby events South Korea have accumulated 4 Gold medals, followed by Japan with 3.

Sri Lanka’s preparation for this event was solid, which included Borneo Sevens, Commonwealth Games and Paris World Games plus the local events, such as the interclub sevens and the Mercantile sevens. Sri Lanka lost out on their high performance manager, Inthi Marikar, who resigned during this period, which was a big blow for the Men’s and Women’s teams.

Squad

Sudharshana Muthuthantri (CH and FC), Gayan Weeraratne, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Danushka Ranjan, Jason Dissanayake, Danushka Dyan (all from Kandy SC), Kavindu Perera, Tharinda Ratwatte, Reza Raffaideen and Rehan Silva (all from CR and FC), Sudam Sooriarachchi (CH and FC), Buddima Piyarathna (Navy SC)

Men’s

Pool A Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Pakistan

Pool B Japan, Malaysia, Taipei, Indonesia

Pool c South Korea, Sri Lanka, UAE, Afghanistan

Women’s

Pool D China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea

Pool E Japan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Indonesia