Asian Netball Championships 2012:

Time for SL to clinch Asian crown again - Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage

Yasaratne GAMAGE

It is time for our netball team to be crowned again as Asian Champions in a background when Sri Lanka is marching towards prosperity while making the island Asia’s sports hub through Mahinda Chinthana future vision, said Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage exclusively commenting to the Daily News sports on the upcoming Asian Netball Championships, Colombo 2012.

Sri Lanka is proud to host eighth Asian Netball Championship here in Colombo and this is also an excellent opportunity for the country to gain international recognition through sports, he further said. The event will be held at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium from August 25 to 31 with the participation of ten countries including Japan , Nepal, Brunei, India, Pakistan , Hong Kong, Maldives, Malaysia, Singapore and hosts, Sri Lanka.

It is a great opportunity for the local lasses amidst the cheer of the home fans to repeat their excellent netball skills to win the title and prove that there were reasons for them to be the champions four times earlier. The Minister also thanked all those who have been part and parcel in developing the game including the Sri Lanka Netball Interim Committee and the People’s Bank for their commitment to the game and also for the players for their sweat through out all these years.

The Sports Ministry Secretary A M Jayawickrama hoped that the tournament will be very competitive as ten top netball playing Asian nationas are vying for supremacy.

As the defending champions, local netballers will certainly look forward to perform well in front of home crowd and retain same for the second consecutive year, he added.

The head of the Organizing Committee, Sports Director General Ranjani Jayakodi extended her wishes for the defending champions and the other participating countries including new comers to the championships, Japan , Nepal and Brunei.

On behalf of the Sports Ministry, she paid her gratitude to the President and the officials of the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) and the Asian Netball Federation for retaining deep faith in Sri Lanka and for giving Sri Lanka the opportunity to host the eighth Asian Netball Championship.

A special message from the President of International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA), Molly Rhone had stated that Regional Federations play an important part in IFNA’s strategic plan and therefore pleased to see that the Asian Federation is hosting the Asian Championships with 10 teams.

“The situation is very encouraging as IFNA aims to expand the game in Asia and hoped that this will encourage other countries to start playing the game,” she also said.

Thamara Dharmakeerthi, Chairperson - Organising Committee ANC 2012 and Sri Lanka Netball Federation Interim Committee President Said that they look forward to reach all netball fans in Asia and the world, by giving latests updates through website, YouTube, Face book and the print and electronic media channels during the tournament.

She also invited netball fans to vote for their favourite team on the official website of the upcoming event, www.anc2012