Sri Lankan men’s ‘A’ team spikers placed seventh

Bernard PERERA

Sri Lanka Men’s A team were placed seventh on the final day of the Asian Beach Volleyball Tour final stage when they lost to China 2-0 (21-19, 21-12) but won against Singapore convincingly 2-0 (21-12, 21-7).

Meanwhile the ‘B’ team recorded a convincing win over Singapore 2-0 (21-12, 21-7) and were placed 19th in the rankings.

The Sri Lanka ‘A’ tam had to be content with the 9th position as they failed to perform well during this final stage. The Women’s team after having a poor show during the previous two stages fought gallantly to stretch Aussies to a three sector but went down 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 8-15).

Sri Lanka ‘A’ team’s main setback as the injury to skipper Dhammika Silva. Though he played he had not fully recovered to give his best to his partner Pubudu Ekanayake. The ‘B’ team was represented by Mahesh Perera and Wasantha Ratnapala.

These four players did an excellent job to put Sri Lanka on the beach Volleyball Map in the Asian Region. The experience they gained here will be of vital importance for the future of the sport.

The Lankan women’s pair Thakshila Gunasinghe and Sujeeva Gunasinghe though failed in the first two stages showed a slight improvement during the last stage in Sougkhla. The experience they gained should be put to use if they are to make headway in the sport.

The Organising of the tournament was good and the host country should get the full credit from all participating countries.