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.
History Netball was first played in Sri Lanka in 1921. The first game was played by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School. By 1952, Sri Lankan clubs were playing Indian club sides. In 1956, Sri Lanka played its first international match against Australia's national team in Sri Lanka. 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. In 1983, Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was dissolved by the government. England's record against Ceylon in international matches between 1949 and 1976 was one win.
Sri Lanka took part in the 1960 Netball Meeting of Commonwealth countries to try to standardise the rules for the game. This meeting took place in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka competed in the 7th Asian Youth Netball Championship held in 2010 in India. 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.Retrieved 03/01/2015
Championships Source:
Sri Lanka emerged the Asian region champions in the M1 Asian Netball Championships 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 Netball World Cup Year Championship Location Placing 1963 1963 World Netball Tournament Eastbourne, England 9th 1983 1983 World Netball Tournament Singapore 14th 1987 1987 World Netball Tournament 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 2011 13th World Championships Singapore 14th 2015 14th World Cup Sydney, Australia 16th 2019 15th World Cup Liverpool, England 15th 2023 16th World Cup Cape Town, South Africa 16th
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 Netball Scoop, Retrieved 03/01/2015
Players
2015 Sri Lanka Netball World Cup Team
Sri Lanka national netball team Players Coaching staff Deepika Abeykoon Dharshika Abeywickrama Thishala Algama Semini Alwis (c) Tharjini Sivalingam Gayanjali Amarawansa Gayani Dissanayake Sureka Kumari Gamage Chathurangi Jayasooriya Hasitha Mendis Niroshini Paiva Viraji Pethigoda Thilini Waththegedera Head coach: Deepthi Alwis
2019 Sri Lanka Netball World Cup Team +Sri Lanka National Netball TeamPlayersCoaching Staff Gayanjali Amarawansa Dharshika Abeywickrama Hasitha Mendis Dulanga Abeygoda Dulangi Wannithileka Thilini Waththegedera Nauchalee Rajapakse Tharjini Sivalingam Deepika Dharshani Abekoon Chathurangi Jayasooriya (c) Gayani Dissanayake (VC) Elilenthini Sethukavalar Head coach: Thilaka Jinadasa
See also Netball in Sri Lanka
References
External links IFNA: Sri Lanka