Lankans create field Hockey history despite losing the final
The Lankan strikers created Hockey history by reaching a final of an international tournament for the first time. After an unbeaten run in the preliminary matches and the semi-finals at the 5th Men’s Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Cup tournament, the Lankans lost 0-3 to Bangladesh in the final.
The elated Coach of the Lankan Hockey contingent, Anuruddha Herath Bandara told the Sunday Times, “Amongst team events, Hockey in Sri Lanka has come to the forefront in the Asian region. Seven months ago, Sri Lanka emerged Runner-up in Round 1 of the World Hockey League. The final against China ended in a 3-3 draw. The winners were decided on Penalty strokes at 6-5.
“Then came the 5th Men’s AHF Cup. Sri Lanka qualified for the final on an unbeaten note. In the final, Sri Lanka lost to the strong Bangladesh team 0-3. This is the first time Sri Lanka entered a final and became runners-up. This is the first time in Sri Lanka’s hockey history that this happened.
"This time Sri Lanka did not go to the tourna- ment to experiment. We had this aim to do well. This helped us a lot in the long run."
“Sri Lanka with a long history in the game, now has a strong team as well. The players went into the tournament in Hong Kong with the sole intention of making it to the finals.”
Coach Bandara is a former national player and umpire. The team has been training together for the past 6 months to do well at the competition. Normally, they train for about a fortnight before an international competition.
Bandara suggests that foreign teams are invited to Sri Lanka for Test series. He believes this will give the national team much-needed experience, and will also give local fans the opportunity to witness our players in action.
Eight Nations from Asia took part in the AHF tournament in Hong Kong. They were Bangladesh, host nation Hong Kong, Taipei, Macao in Group A, and Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Uzbekistan in Group B.
Sri Lanka was adjudged Most Disciplined Team as well, as Sri Lanka received only 2 Yellow Cards for the entire competition.
Priyalanka Sandaruwan was the third top scorer in the tournament, with 5 field goals.
According to previous competitions, only the champions and runner-up qualify for the 2017 Asia Cup, while only the champions qualified for the 2017 AHF Cup.
In the 1st Round, Sri Lanka beat Uzbekistan 7-2 with Priyalanka Sandaruwan and Shamika Gunawardena scoring 2 goals each, while Anuruddha Suresh, Maduranga Wijesinghe and Lahiru Weerasuriya netted a goal each.
The 2nd match against Singapore ended in a 3-3 draw. Sri Lanka’s goals were scored by Tharanga Gunewardena, Priyalanka Sandaruwan and Lahiru Weerasuriya.
Sri Lanka beat Thailand 2-0 in the 3rd match. Chamika Gunewardena (1), Ishanka Jayasundera (1) scored the goals.
Sri Lanka qualified to meet Hong Kong in the semi-finals where Sri Lanka triumphed 2-0, with Damith Bandara and Priyalanka Sandaruwan scoring a goal each.
In the final Sri Lanka lost to Bangladesh 0-3. Bangladesh led 1-0 at 'lemons'.