Sri Lanka defeat Hong Kong to secure semi-final spot

Sri Lanka recorded a comfortable 60-45 win against Hong Kong in a must win game to book their semi-final place in the 10th Asian Youth Netball Championship.

Sri Lanka’s shock opening day 53-48 loss to Thailand now seems a distant memory but was also a wakeup call for the team, which threatened to end Sri Lanka’s championship defence in the group stage itself.

However thumping wins against Pakistan and Maldives set up the must win game against Hong Kong, who had defeated Thailand earlier.

Sri Lanka rout Maldives in Asian Youth Netball Championship

Sri Lanka registered another massive 86-14 win against Maldives in their group A match..

Sri Lanka, as they have done so throughout the tournament raced to an early lead in the first quarter. They ended the 1st quarter 18-10. Sri Lanka led 24-14 at one time but the 2nd quarter was an even contest with both sides scoring 11 points each and went into half time 29-21.

After the break Sri Lanka were quick to pounce on every given opportunity to extend the lead. They opened the 3rd quarter on an 11-4 run but saw Hong Kong claw their way back with a 2-6 run of their own to make it 42-31. The 3rd quarter ended with Sri Lanka having a 14 pints lead (46-32).

It was smooth sailing for Sri Lanka in the 4th quarter winning it 14-13 with the final score reading 60-45.

For Sri Lanka once again it was Kaveena Rajapaksha’s sharp shooting that paved the way for the victory. She was 100% from 47 shots while Rashmi Diwyanjali Perera scored 13 from 19 shots.

Sri Lanka will now face Singapore in the semi-finals on 12th May at 3.00pm (Korea time). Malaysia will face Hong Kong in the other semi-final.