Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka Netball wants to be No.1 in Asia

- By Susil Premalal

The Netball Federation of Sri Lanka will implement a four- year plan to stamp their position as the number one team in Asia. Sri Lanka currently ranked third in the region and 25th in the world but the administra­tors want to become the best in the region by winning next year's Asian Championsh­ips.

This was revealed at the Netball Convention held recently with the participat­ion of all stakeholde­rs including former national players, internatio­nal coaches, internatio­nal referees, district level administra- tors, doctors and media. The fouryear plan will be implemente­d from January next year. According to Trixi Nanayakkar­a, President Sri Lanka Netball Federation, under the fouryear plan associatio­n's main target would be next year's Asian Championsh­ips in Singapore. "The Asian Championsh­ips comes under the short ter m plan," said Nanayakkar­a.

If Sri Lanka fails to qualify for the finals, Sri Lanka will lose the opportunit­y to take part in the World Netball Championsh­ips to be held in Liverpool, England in 2019.

At the last edition of the Asian Netball Championsh­ips held in Thailand, Sri Lanka lost to Malaysia and ended as the runners-up.

At the Sydney World Cup in 2016, Sri Lanka was placed 16th out of 16 countries.

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 ??  ?? Netball has been stagnating for years - File pic
Netball has been stagnating for years - File pic

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