Sri Lanka Rugby has made a revision to its men’s Rugby Sevens squad for the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The Rugby Sevens competition will be worked off from October 1 to 3 at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Japan, and the team departed for Japan last night (27 Sept).
Centre Akash Madusanka was given additional time to prove his fitness after sustaining an injury; he subsequently passed the fitness test and made it to the touring 13.
The revised squad blends experienced campaigners with several exciting young players as Sri Lanka aims to make an impact in the continental competition after qualifying for the Games earlier this year.
The Sri Lankan outfit is led by the experienced Srinath Sooriyabandara, with Janidu Dilshan and Gemunu Chetiya making it into the 13-player squad.
Sri Lanka has been drawn in Group C alongside the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and the Philippines, with hopes of progressing to the knockout stage of the Asian Games Rugby Sevens tournament and bringing home a medal. Sri Lanka Rugby has put in a lot of effort, taken a keen interest and incurred expenses on this sevens outfit to achieve this goal.
The Squad: Diluksha Dange, Akash Madusanka, Chathura Soysa, Gayan Perera, Srinath Sooriyabandara (Captain), Dinal Ekanayake, Jayathu Rajarathna, Janindu Dilshan, Shahid Zumri, Kavidu Perera, Pasindu Bandara, Devinda Rathnayake, and Gamunu Chethiya. Head Coach Fazil Marija.
Group – A: Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Uzbekistan.
Group – B: Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Kazakhstan.
Group – C: Sri Lanka, UAE, Singapore and Philippines.
Matches (SL time)
1 Oct.: SL vs. Philippines at 7.35 am; SL vs. Singapore at 1.50 pm
2 Oct.: SL vs. UAE at 7.35 am