Northern Ireland win in consolation final

Prince GUNASEKARA reporting from Singapore

NETBALL: Sri Lanka went down to Northern Ireland 51-61 in the consolation final for the third place in the Asian Invitation Netball Tournament match worked off at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall in Singapore yesterday.

The scores were level 15 all at the end of the first quarter but Northern Ireland took the lead 30-27 in the second quarter.

They extended their lead to 46-42 at the completion of the third quarter and went on to consolidate their position in the fourth and deciding quarter.

Sri Lanka who beat Northern Ireland 55-50 in the preliminary round failed to produce the same form despite another fine performance from Tharjani Sivalingam who contributed 47 goals from 52 attempts. Goal keeper Kumarani Silva was named as the best player for the Sri Lanka team.

Earlier Singapore defeated Trinidad and Tobago 56-32 in the championship final.