Sri Lanka aiming for top four
Sri Lanka (SL) Youth (Boys) Volleyball (VB) Head Coach, Chaminda Lakshman Kumara said his aim is to propel the team to the Top 4 at the 11th Asian Youth (Boys) VB Championships to be held in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, from March 28-April 5. SL's opening fixture is against Thailand on March 28, followed by Japan the next day (29).
The last edition of this contest was in Colombo 2014, where 14 Asian countries took part. Sri Lanka came 5th, the best ever performance in the sport. Iran emerged champions with Japan as runners-up, while China came 3rd, Chinese Taipei 4th and Sri Lanka 5th. The contest in 2014 was for Under (U)-18 players, but this time the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) has changed it to U-19 players.
“The SL team is packed with talented players and to my reckoning this year, the team is capable of ending up within the first 4. The players are in good fettle. There are also two experienced players in the team,” summed up Kumara.
The SL team took wing to Myanmar on March 25 morning.
This tournament conducted by the AVC will feature 12 Asian countries, and SL is taking part in the tournament for the 6th time.
The 1st was in 2007 when SL came 10th, while in 2008, SL came 7th. In 2010, SL came 8th, and improved to 6th in 2012.
Iran has won the competition on 7 occasions. The top two teams in this year’s competition will qualify for the Nuan Tharaka Dinidu Ruchintha Mahela Indivara Bandara K.B.S.D. Jayaratne Chamod Maleesha Senadhira Pasindu Sandaruwan Yohan Sanuka Kavin Thivanka Silva Sachith Roshan Perera Maleesha Ravishan Dilanka Maduranga (Damissara MMV), Head Coach - Chaminda Lakshman Kumara, Assistant Coach - Tharaka Ratnaweera, Trainer - Upendra Perera. FIVB (Federation of International Volleyball) Youth (Boys) World Championships to be held in Bahrain in 2017.
SL are in Group C, together with Japan and Thailand. In Group A are Myanmar, Australia and Hong Kong. Group B consists of defending champions Iran, South Korea and Bangladesh, while Group D comprises of China, Taipei and Kazakhstan.