Netball squad’s preparations for World Cup in shambles
Sri Lanka’s netball squad for the upcoming World Championships in England has been hard pressed in their preparations, due the lack of necessary facilities.
While the netball squad has been practicing ahead of the tournament, to be held in Liverpool from July 12 to 21, their coach Thilaka Jinadasa lamented a lack of support by the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka and Ministry of Sports.
The squad, she said, was forced to train in Bandaragama which was not an adequate stadium for their preparations.
“We were expecting to use the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium but we cannot get it as a considerable amount of money has to be spent to use it. Now we have to travel several kilometres to the Bandaragama Indoor Stadium, and a lot of time is spent on traveling to this location. Also there are a lot of issues in the Bandaragama Indoor Stadium. There are not enough floodlights in the stadium and also the conditions are too hot for the players to handle,” she said.
She also claimed that the Ministry of Sports and the Netball Federation was more concerned with the conducting of the body’s annual general meeting, and not on supporting the preparation for this tournament or the Asian Youth Netball Championships which is scheduled to be held from June 30 to July 7 in Kashima, Japan.
She said that she had attempted to meet the Sports Minister Harin Fernando to discuss this grievance but he had yet to give her the opportunity to do so.
“The preparations for the Cricket World Cup have been planned out well in advance but it is not the same for the netball squad. There is a lack of match exposure and the netballers are left to worry about the outcome of the AGM and not the world championships,” she said.
She said that despite this, the squad was hard at practice.
The current 27-member practice squad will be trimmed down to a main squad of 12 and three stand-by players.
“There is about 150 days for the World Cup Netball Tournament. There are no issues among those in the squad and they are practicing hard despite these limitations. The problem is that the priority seems to be on the netball AGM and not the World Championships,” Jinadasa said.
“I request the Minister to intervene and ensure we are prepared mentally for the tournament.”
“Sri Lanka is currently 19th in the world rankings having earlier been in 26th spot. My target is to bring Sri Lanka into the top 10. But given the present situation, it remains a pipe dream.”
“If this situation continues, I will be force to make difficult decision,” Jinadasa said, though not elaborating on what it was.
Sri Lanka sealed their berth at the World Championships by winning the Asian Championships last year, after a lapse of nine.
The preparations for the Cricket World Cup have been planned out well in advance but it is not the same for the netball squad. There is a lack of match exposure and the netballers are left to worry about the outcome of the AGM and not the world championships