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Rugby Asiad
Sri Lanka out to impress
(By Althaf Nawaz Reporting from Singapore)Sri Lankan Ruggerites will go all out to impress at the 16th Rugby Asiad which will commence on Saturday.
Led by hooker Viraj Prasanna, the team consists of young but talented players. The fowards are the strength of the side with a mobile pack. Veteran Asoka Jayasena will use all his experience to lead them as a senior pack leader.
The three quarter-line cannot be under —rated as it consists of best players who excelled in the local rugby tournament.
Going back to the Asiad history, which was started way back in 1969 which was hosted by Japan it was ultimately won by the hosts. Next year it was held in 1970 in Bangkok in which Japan won convincingly. After the second Asiad the organisers decided to hold this tournament twice a year and Japan had bagged the title mostly.
Sri Lanka’s best performance was in 1974 where Lankans hosted. They lost to Japan (44/16) in the finals. They defeated Laos, Malaysia and Singapore that year before reaching the final. That year the team was led by Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy who was one of the best flankers at that time.
The second ASIAD was in 1990, in Sri Lanka where Sri Lanka played under the leadership of Priyantha Ekanayake. Even though they won only against Taiwan 6/3, it was a successful tournament. They lost to Korea 25/15 and Hong Kong (21/12).
This year it is an entirely different tournament as the top teams like Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and China, Taipei are in group ‘A’.
Winners and runners up of the previous Asiad:
1969 — Japan Japan
1970 — Bangkok Japan
1972 — Hong Kong Japan
1974 — Sri Lanka Japan
1976 — South Korea Japan
1978 — Malaysia Japan
1980 — Chinese Taipei Japan
1982 — Singapore South Korea
1984 — Japan Japan
1986 — S. Korea S. Korea
1988 — Hong Kong S. Korea
1990 — Sri Lanka Japan
1992 — S. Korea
1994 — Malaysia
1996 — Chinese Taipei
On 31 October, over 400 volleyball teams - some 5,000 individual players - drawn from near and far will volley to win at the Lion Stout National Volleyball Championship.
"This is the largest volleyball championship of the year. Indeed, it is truly rare to find a sporting competition which can muster such massive interest, athletic participation and fanfare across the island. And this year’s Lion Stout National Volleyball Championship is guaranteed to achieve much more," says Sunil Nawaratne, President of the Sri-Lanka Volleyball Federation Interim Body.
After a series of district level qualifiers spread over two separate weekends (31 October - 1 November, 7 -8 November) the qualifying teams will make their way to the semi-finals. "We’ve actually changed the structure of this year’s championship and the semi-finals will be held at two separate cities - Negombo and Nuwara Eliya," stated Brigadier P G Charles, Secretary of the SLVF Interim Body. "Division B teams will vie for the Lion Stout trophies at Negombo (12 - 15 November), and Division A teams at Nuwara Eliya (19 - 22 November). Travelling to these locations would add to the dynamism of the event, and lets not forget that they are heartlands of volleyball."
The climax of the championship will be the Lion Stout Superleague held at the NYSC Maharagama, where teams who have demonstrated a consistent track record of ability at such a physically demanding level will vie for the coveted Lion Stout Superleague trophy. After close upon a week of Super league semi-finals from 30 November to 6 December, the match of the year will be held on 13 December.
Says Herman Pereira, the Lion Stout Brand Manager, "This championship reflects the determination of young players throughout the country to better their lives and the sport. It proves the sheer popularity of a sport which demands prowess, control and power. Lion Stout is not only proud to be the official sponsor of the championship, but to play a pivotal role in the development of the sport."
