The Sri Lanka Under-21 Boys Water Polo team won the Bronze Medal beating the Kuala Lumpur team 14-7 at the 50th Malaysian National Water Polo Championships concluded at Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia yesterday.
This is arguably the best result Sri Lanka Water Polo has ever achieved in International Arena in the Under 21 age group category. The team played with a lot of positive attitude in the all important match scoring at regular intervals and didn’t allow opponents any opportunity to gain any momentum.
In the run up to the 3rd place match Sri Lanka played Selangor and Malacca Teams in the group matches. The Sri Lanka Team beat Selangor 17 goals to 4 and lost to Malacca 8-9 in a nail biting thriller. Thereafter, Sri Lanka entered the semi-final to play the defending champions Hong Kong. After trailing 12-7 Sri Lanka just fell short of a goal in equalizing the Hong Kong score and the semi-final ended in favor of Hong Kong 12-11. Malacca and Hong Kong teams were the eventual finalist in this year’s championship and Malacca won another nail biter beating Hong Kong 7-6.
The Sri Lankan Water Polo team has made remarkable progress in current year when compared with the performance in the previous international tournaments.
“We are happy to note that the efforts in forming a national pool with limited resources last year is paying off. We commend the young enthusiasts in the Water Polo community who are volunteering in promoting the sport and the national pool coaches who are contributing their time without expecting anything in return. We are also grateful to our sponsors who have placed their confidence in the team and have come forward to support them”, said Nethru Nanayakkara, President of the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union on the medal winning success.
The Bronze Medal winning Sri Lanka Water Polo Team comprised Musharraf Uwais (Captain), Shan Lakshitha (Vice Captain), Wasim M. Bawa, Kanitha Munasinghe, Deelaka Weerarathne, Keshan Munasinghe, Akila Weerasinghe, Waleed Uwais, Rifat Uwais, Chandula Fernando, Kosala Wijewardena, Pathum Edirisinghe and Oshada Madushanka.
The Sri Lanka team is coached by Malaka Chandradasa and Awnee Razack, while Hiran Ukawatte (Team Manager), Ulfath Uwais (Assistant Manager), Yahan Samarajeewa and Krishan Duminda accompanied the team as officials. Senura Abeywardena and Ajantha Silva officiated in the tournament as members of the FINA certified Referees panel for the tournament.
Water Polo is one of the five disciplines controlled by Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union, the national body for aquatic sports affiliated with FINA, the international federation and is promoted under the banner of Sri Lanka Water Polo.
