The national selectors have gone ahead with a bold decision to include four of the Sri Lanka Under 20 Sevens players in the national sevens squad ahead of the Asia Sevens Series that is set to kick off on the 1st of September in Hong Kong.

Sri Lanka who finished second in last year’s series behind Hong Kong has with themselves a bigger responsibility this year around with their opponents expected to provide tougher competition. The three legged series will be played in Hong Kong, South Korea and in Colombo.

Danushka Ranjan
Skipper Danushka Ranjan’s team finished with an all time best of second place in last year’s series

The under 20 performance in Hong Kong a fortnight back had caught the eye of the selectors as Naveen Henakankanamage, Wajid Fawmy, Adeesha Weerathunga &  Supun Dilshan have been called up for training with the national sevens team.

“We will put up a good show and bring it back” – Naveen Henakankanamage

Sri Lanka Under 20 Sevens Captain Naveen Henakankanamage has faith in his team to bring back..

The under 20’s showcased an impressive stint finishing second best behind Hong Kong. Skipper Henakankanamage was the highlight at the Kings Park Stadium and was the second highest try scorer in the competition with nine tries under his name.

It was a glorious season for the former S. Thomas’ skipper having played both the Sri Lanka Super 7s as well as the Mercantile Sevens.

Henakankanamage was the highlight in the Sri Lanka side scoring nine tries in total including a hat-trick against Malaysia
Henakankanamage was the highlight in the Sri Lanka side scoring nine tries in total including a hat-trick against Malaysia

His deputy and Navy Sports Club player Supun Dilshan was the most experienced campaigner in the under 20’s and was a pivotal in Sri Lanka’s campaign alongside his Navy SC team mate Adheesha Weerathunga.

The Police SC third row Wajid Fawmy was another pick from the squad having showcased what he is capable of donning the Under 20 fifteen’s jersey last year and this time around in the sevens format.

The former Zahira player also represented Sri Lanka when they toured Malaysia for the Under 20 XV's championship
The former Zahira player also represented Sri Lanka when they toured Malaysia for the Under 20 XV’s championship

The current training squad will be a mix of young and experienced talent and with exactly two weeks to go for the 1st leg, it would be interesting to see who out of this four players make the cut for the final 12-member touring squad.

The team is coached by the New Zealand national Peter Woods and it will be his first assignment with the national sevens squad succeeding South African Matt Turner