Asian Netball Champions arrive

Anushka WITHANAGE

There were no big names present to welcome the champion Sri Lanka netball team at the airport that clinched the 7th Asian Netball title.

It was not a charged up occasion for the Sri Lankan side along with Tharjini Selwanayagam heroics that brought home the title at the VIP lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport around 3 p.m. yesterday.

Singapore was the runner-up while Malaysia finished in third place. Sri Lanka team was coached by Thilaka Jinadasa.

Tharjini who fired 74 points out of 77 in the final against Singapore, captain Shashika Samarasinghe other members, were all smiles all the way as they were greeted by the President of the Netball Federation Ajantha Wijesekera and other officials on their arrival.

The captain was full of praise for Tharjini and the rest of the team. “We gave our best in the final, and took it stage by stage which was the contributory factor to defeat the reigning champions Singapore in Malaysia,” said the skipper.

She said that personally this title was important for her because she had the opportunity to represent the country twice when Sri Lanka won the Asian Championship titles.

President NF Ajantha Wijesekara praised the Netball Federation for giving the maximum support to bring the team to win the Asian title for a fourth time.