After their fascinating performance in the Asian Netball Championship last month, Sri Lanka is now eyeing to do well at the forthcoming Netball World Cup, which is to take place in Liverpool, England next July.
By winning the Asian title by beating host Singapore in the finals, Sri Lanka qualified for the World Cup, along with runner-up Singapore.
The World Championship will consist of 16 participating countries; the top five according to current world rankings, plus the 10 regional qualifiers, including Sri Lanka, coming from five world regions. England qualified as the host nation. The top five are; Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa and Malawi.
“Our aim is to enter the top 10 out of the 16 participating nations this time,” said Thilaka Jinadasa who coached Sri Lanka towards the Asia Cup win for the fifth time in 11 editions.
The training for the world event will begin this week. Sri Lanka finished last – 16th – at the previous World Cup.
“The training we had in Malawi helped us immensely in winning the Asia Cup. Therefore, we hope to do at least two practice tours before the World Cup. They will most probably be in the Africa continent,” Jinadasa added.
Tharjini talks on being Tamil, and tall
Following are excerpts from an interview The Sunday Morning did with Tharjini Sivalingam recently, following Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup victory.
Q. Did your origins in Jaffna ever trouble you?
A. Never. In fact, I was troubled more because of my extraordinary height, rather than because I am a Tamil. Both in Colombo and Jaffna, people used to make jokes on me when I walked on the streets. But the same people who looked at me so sarcastically because of my height are now coming to congratulate me.
Q. What are your thoughts on your extraordinary height of 6’10”?
A. That was very much worrying me, and my family, throughout my entire youth. I started growing tall since I was 14. People used to make jokes about me. When I first came to Colombo, it was really tough. I used to wear the traditional dress which looked odd due to my height. But now things have changed. People know me well and are very friendly.
Q. How about living within a different community?
A. Never in my career have I been intimidated because of my Tamil nationality. This time in Singapore, every time I scored, every supporter of ours cheered and encouraged me. I noticed in their faces that they were not worried at least a bit about the fact that I’m Tamil. I think they always took me as a Sri Lankan. We all felt as one.
When my netball friends visit our house in Jaffna, my parents really like it, and treat them the best possible way. And my villagers found it difficult to understand that the Sinhalese people were so good. Most of the time, they don’t have any possibility to associate with the Sinhala people, and when they do, they change their whole attitude towards them.
By winning the Asian title by beating host Singapore in the finals, Sri Lanka qualified for the World Cup, along with runner-up Singapore.
The World Championship will consist of 16 participating countries; the top five according to current world rankings, plus the 10 regional qualifiers, including Sri Lanka, coming from five world regions. England qualified as the host nation. The top five are; Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa and Malawi.
“Our aim is to enter the top 10 out of the 16 participating nations this time,” said Thilaka Jinadasa who coached Sri Lanka towards the Asia Cup win for the fifth time in 11 editions.
The training for the world event will begin this week. Sri Lanka finished last – 16th – at the previous World Cup.
“The training we had in Malawi helped us immensely in winning the Asia Cup. Therefore, we hope to do at least two practice tours before the World Cup. They will most probably be in the Africa continent,” Jinadasa added.
Tharjini talks on being Tamil, and tall
Following are excerpts from an interview The Sunday Morning did with Tharjini Sivalingam recently, following Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup victory.
Q. Did your origins in Jaffna ever trouble you?
A. Never. In fact, I was troubled more because of my extraordinary height, rather than because I am a Tamil. Both in Colombo and Jaffna, people used to make jokes on me when I walked on the streets. But the same people who looked at me so sarcastically because of my height are now coming to congratulate me.
Q. What are your thoughts on your extraordinary height of 6’10”?
A. That was very much worrying me, and my family, throughout my entire youth. I started growing tall since I was 14. People used to make jokes about me. When I first came to Colombo, it was really tough. I used to wear the traditional dress which looked odd due to my height. But now things have changed. People know me well and are very friendly.
Q. How about living within a different community?
A. Never in my career have I been intimidated because of my Tamil nationality. This time in Singapore, every time I scored, every supporter of ours cheered and encouraged me. I noticed in their faces that they were not worried at least a bit about the fact that I’m Tamil. I think they always took me as a Sri Lankan. We all felt as one.
When my netball friends visit our house in Jaffna, my parents really like it, and treat them the best possible way. And my villagers found it difficult to understand that the Sinhalese people were so good. Most of the time, they don’t have any possibility to associate with the Sinhala people, and when they do, they change their whole attitude towards them.