Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Wednesday, 1 August 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka Golf (SLG), the national body for golf in Sri Lanka, together with HSBC, for the second year running will host the international junior golf championship to be played among countries in the region: Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India. Sri Lanka won the inaugural tournament played last year beating Pakistan in a cliffhanger.
This year Malaysia too have entered a two-member team and it is hoped that they will send a full contingent next year to further increase Asian participation.
This event, which was created to offer a platform for Sri Lankan juniors to compete among the best in the Indian subcontinent and Asia, was the brainchild of the SLG Junior Sub Committee and was conceived with the singular aim of raising the standard of the sport in the country. The format is structured on a hybrid version of similar international team events played worldwide such as the Asia Pacific Golf Team Championship and the Ryder Cup in the US.
Each of the countries will field a team comprising two boys and two girls.
The Sri Lanka team was selected by the national golf selectors headed by Captain Navin de Silva. Current Sri Lanka junior boys champion Vinod Weerasinghe of British School has been picked to lead Sri Lanka, whilst the team also comprises 18-year-old Armand Flamer Caldera of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia who is currently ranked No. 2 nationally and who has also represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Championship in sailing.
The two girls represented on the team are 16-year-old Taniya Balasuriya of Sri Jayawardenapura Girls’ School, Kotte and 15-year-old Kayla Perera of Ladies’ College. Both have considerable international exposure having participated in many overseas golf events.
Preceding the international team championship, an individual event will be open to current junior golfers in the country on 1 August, which is also to be played at the Royal Colombo Golf Club.
This will be based on four age groups and categorised as 15-18+ years (Gold Division), 12-14+ years (Silver Division), 10-11+ years (Bronze Division) and 9 years and under (Copper Division).
The HSBC Junior International Golf Championship is supported by several prestigious event partners.
Cinnamon Life is the hospitality partner and they will host all the international teams whilst MAS Kreeda, the Apparel Partner, has provided sportswear for the grassroots program.
IMORICH from Elephant House has come forward as the indulgence partner.
In addition, Olu water will support the event as the official beverage with Callaway Golf, the renowned golf brand, serving as the equipment sponsor.
