Sri Lanka national netball team

The Sri Lanka national netball team is the national netball team of Sri Lanka. The team is coached by Hyacinth Wijesinghe and captained by Gayanjali Amarawansa. As of 01 March 2023, Sri Lanka are ranked 15th in the world.[1]

Sri Lanka
Nickname(s)The Lionesses
AssociationNetball Federation of Sri Lanka
ConfederationNetball Asia
Head coachHyacinth Wijesinghe
CaptainGayanjali Amarawansa
World ranking15
Primary
Primary
Primary
Secondary
Secondary
Netball World Cup
Appearances10 (Debuted in 1963)
2023 placing16th
Best result9th (1963)
Commonwealth Games
Appearances2 (Debuted in 1998)
Best result10th (2002)

History

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Netball was first played in Sri Lanka in 1921.[2] The first game was played by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School.[2] By 1952, Sri Lankan clubs were playing Indian club sides.[2] In 1956, Sri Lanka played its first international match against Australia's national team in Sri Lanka.[2] In 1963, Sri Lanka was one of eleven teams who participated in the first Netball World Cup. For Ceylon, they would finish in ninth place as they get a win over Wales and Northern Ireland. In 1972, the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was created.[2] In 1983, Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was dissolved by the government.[2] England's record against Ceylon in international matches between 1949 and 1976 was one win.[3]

Sri Lanka took part in the 1960 Netball Meeting of Commonwealth countries to try to standardise the rules for the game.[4] This meeting took place in Sri Lanka.[4]

Sri Lanka competed in the 7th Asian Youth Netball Championship held in 2010 in India.[5] The Beach Netball Championship 2012 for Men and Women was held at the Beach of Catamaran Beach Hotel, Negombo. Teams from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Maldives participated in this tournament. The Sri Lanka women’s team emerged champions in this section beating the Maldivian team by 19 goals to 10.[6]

Championships[7][8]

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Sri Lanka emerged the Asian region champions in the M1 Asian Netball Championships[9] 2018 after triumphing over host Singapore 69-50 in the final played at OCBC arena, Singapore on 9 September 2018. This is the fifth time Sri Lanka had emerged as the Asian champions, the last championship won being in 2009. The side was captained by Chathurangi Jayasooriya. Tharjini Sivalingam, the 2.08 m goal-shooter, along with three other players in the starting XI standing over 1.8 m, played a major role in defeating the strong Singaporean side. The Malaysian Team, which Sri Lanka beat in the semi-finals emerged in third place.

The captain said “I am really proud and happy for my coach and my team. In the last eight months, we trained very hard with our coach. We maintained good discipline, as nothing is possible without that. We stuck together and maintained our team bond – I think that is our secret to winning.”

As the top team in the championship, Sri Lanka has automatically qualified for the 2019 Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England.

Competitive record

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Netball World Cup
Year Championship Location Placing
1963 1st World Championships Eastbourne, England 9th
1967 2nd World Championships Perth, Australia DNP
1971 3rd World Championships Kingston, Jamaica DNP
1975 4th World Championships Auckland, New Zealand DNP
1979 5th World Championships Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago DNP
1983 6th World Championships Singapore 14th
1987 7th World Championships Glasgow, Scotland 16th
1991 8th World Championships Sydney, Australia 15th
1995 9th World Championships Birmingham, England 19th
1999 10th World Championships Christchurch, New Zealand 21st
2003 11th World Championships Kingston, Jamaica 18th
2007 12th World Championships Auckland, New Zealand DNQ
2011 13th World Championships Singapore 14th
2015 14th World Cup Sydney, Australia 16th
2019 15th World Cup Liverpool, England 15th
Asian Netball Championship
Year Cup Location Placing
1985 1st Asian Championships Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia   Runners-up
1989 2nd Asian Championships New Delhi, India   Champions
1993 3rd Asian Championships Hong Kong   3rd place
1997 4th Asian Championships Singapore   Champions
2001 5th Asian Championships Colombo, Sri Lanka   Champions
2005 6th Asian Championships Singapore   3rd place
2009 7th Asian Championships Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia   Champions
2012 8th Asian Championships Colombo, Sri Lanka   Runners-up
2014 9th Asian Championships Singapore   Runners-up
2016 10th Asian Championships Thailand   Runners-up
2018 11th Asian Championships Singapore   Champions
2022 12th Asian Championships Singapore   Champions
2024 13th Asian Championships Bengaluru, India   Runners-up
Nations Cup
Year Cup Location Placing
2006 4 Nations Cup Singapore DNP
2007 5 Nations Cup Singapore 4th
2008 5 Nations Cup Singapore 4th
2009 6 Nations Cup Singapore DNP
2010 6 Nations Cup Singapore DNP
2011 6 Nations Cup Singapore 5th
2012 6 Nations Cup Singapore 4th
2013 6 Nations Cup Singapore 4th
2014 6 Nations Cup Singapore DNP
2015 5 Nations Cup Singapore DNP
2016 6 Nations Cup Singapore DNP
2017 6 Nations Cup Singapore DNP

[10]

Players

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2015 Sri Lanka Netball World Cup Team

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Sri Lanka national netball team
Players Coaching staff
  • Head coach: Deepthi Alwis

2019 Sri Lanka Netball World Cup Team

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Sri Lanka National Netball Team
Players Coaching Staff
  • Head coach: Thilaka Jinadasa


See also

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References

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  1. ^ International Netball Federation & INF
  2. ^ a b c d e f Sri Lanka Netball 2010
  3. ^ All England Netball Association, p. 31
  4. ^ a b International Federation of Netball Associations 2008
  5. ^ Sagar 2010
  6. ^ Retrieved 03/01/2015
  7. ^ "Sri Lanka wins Asian Netball Championship after 9 years". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Sri Lanka demolish Singapore in Asian Championship final". ThePapare.com. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Asian Netball Championship 2018". ActiveSG. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  10. ^ Netball Scoop, Retrieved 03/01/2015
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