It was a disappointing loss for Sri Lanka as their final medal hope at the Asian Games vanished into thin air as the Republic of Korea defeated Sri Lanka 14-36 in the Bronze medal game that was played at the GBK field in Indonesia.
The Tuskers earlier lost to South Korea in the group stage game with only a try separating the two teams apart. But, the semifinal was a different clash with Korea scoring an early opener through Chang Yongheung. The Koreans who were playing to their strengths in terms of physicality continued their try scoring spree with two more tries coming in the first half.
Two tries from Kim Jeongmin and Jang Jeongmin crossed the white line for two scores leaving the Tuskers with only themselves to blame in terms of defense as South Korea finished the first half 19-0.
Halftime – South Korea 19 lead Sri Lanka 0
Anticipating a fightback, the Tuskers took the field for their final 7 minutes in the tournament and it was Tarinda Ratwatte who burst through the midfield to score the team’s 1st in the 1st minute of the second half (19-7).
Despite scoring in the very first minute, the Tuskers failed to keep up with the big-made Koreans who crossed over on three occasions thereafter.
Jason Dissanayake managed to seep through for one more score but it was not enough to prevent the inevitable. Sri Lanka finished with 14 points while the Republic of Korea managed to pile a stand of 36 points to take the Bronze medal for the second successive time.
After giving their hearts out in the semifinal against Japan, the Tuskers were unable to carry their positive playing pattern into the Bronze medal clash and eventually finished 4th in the competition.
Full time score: South Korea 36 (6T 3C) defeat Sri Lanka 14 (2T 2C)
Breakdown: South Korea – Chang Yongheung (1T), Lee Jabok (1C), Kim Jeongmin (1T), Jang Jeongmin(1T), Kim Namuk (2C), Kim Hyunsoo (1T), Kim JInhyeok (1T), Hwang Injo (1T)
Sri Lanka – Jason Dissanayake (1T), Tarinda Ratwatte (1T 2C)
