Sri Lankan rugby players miss Asia Sevens first leg in South Korea

Sri Lankan rugby players will be deprived of locking horns at the first leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens, which kicked off in South Korea on 7 September, due to administration blunders at Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) – including not holding elections on time and the Director General of Sports being unable to act due to a Court of Appeal order – resulting in the hard working players missing out on Asia’s best ever shorter version of the game.

This year’s series features Asia’s top eight men’s and women’s teams, with the United Arab Emirates women’s team and Thailand men’s team joining after their victories at the 2023 Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy in Qatar.

The 2024 Series will include teams from Japan, Hong Kong China, China, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, South Korea (men’s), and Kazakhstan (women’s).

The pools are determined by last year’s final standings. In the men’s competition, last year’s series winner, Japan, leads with the first leg and the second leg (China), out of reach for Sri Lanka. They will keep their hopes alive for a win at Nepal to then qualify for the final leg in Thailand on 9 and 10 November at the Royal Thai Air Force Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Sri Lanka will need to play in a qualifying tournament in Kathmandu, Nepal on 5 and 6 October.

The national selectors have already chosen a 40-member initial training squad to prepare for the upcoming tournament in Nepal, but no light can be seen at the end of the tunnel as the direction of sponsors and funds is still in question for the second most followed sport in the country after cricket.