Rugby was first introduced at the Asian Games in 1998 which was held in Bangkok, Thailand and has been a part of this multi-sport event ever since.
Interestingly in 1998 as well as in the 2002 games (held in Busan, South Korea), Rugby was played in both the Fifteens format as well as the Sevens format. However, since then it is just the 7’s game that has been a part of this continental event which is held every 4 years. Sri Lanka has been a regular participant at this event, albeit with not much success. As the Tuskers prepare for another campaign at these games, ThePapare takes a look at how the team has fared in past matches in this regional event and as to where they have been ranked in the final analysis.
In the Fifteens game:
1998 – Bangkok, Thailand
Group Stage
Lost to Korea : 3 – 90
Beat Thailand : 18 -16Semi Finals
Lost to Japan : 0 – 116Bronze Medal Match
Lost to Taipei : 20 -38Sri Lanka’s Rank: 4th place from 6 teams
Medalists: Gold – Korea, Silver – Japan, Bronze – Taiwan
2002 – Busan, South Korea
Round Robin
Lost to Korea : 11 -70
Lost to Japan : 6 -129
Lost to Taipei : 18 -58Sri Lanka’s Rank: 4th place from 4 teams
Medalists: Gold – Korea, Silver – Japan, Bronze – Taiwan
In the Sevens format:
1998 – Bangkok, Thailand
Group Stage
Lost to Taipei : 12 -28
Lost to Kazakhstan : 14 -27
Lost to Korea : 0 – 29Sri Lanka’s Rank: 7th place from 7 teams
Medalists: Gold – Korea, Silver – Japan, Bronze – Thailand
2002 – Busan, South Korea
Group Stage
Lost to Thailand : 7 – 26
Lost to Korea : 7 -49
Beat Malaysia : 19 – 145th – 6th place Classification Match
Lost to China : 14 – 24Sri Lanka’s Rank : 6th place from 8 teams
Medalists: Gold – Korea, Silver – Taiwan, Bronze – Thailand
2006 – Doha, Qatar
Group Stage
Beat India : 48 – 0
Lost to China : 5 – 315th – 6th place Classification Match
Lost to Hong Kong : 5 – 35Sri Lanka’s Rank : 6th Place from 9 teams
Medalists: Gold – Japan, Silver – Korea, Bronze – China
2010 – Guangzhou, China
Group Stage
Lost to China : 5 – 26
Lost to Korea : 0 – 43
Beat India : 42 – 125th – 8th place Classification Match
Beat Thailand : 21 – 175th – 6th place Classification Match
Lost to Malaysia : 7 – 27Sri Lanka’s Rank : 6th Place from 9 teams
Medalists: Gold – Japan, Silver – Hong Kong, Bronze – Korea
2014 – Incheon, South Korea
Group Stage
Beat Taipei : 24 – 7
Beat Lebanon : 54 – 0
Lost to Korea : 12 – 21Quarter Finals
Beat China 24 -19Semi Finals
Lost to Japan : 0 – 40Bronze Medal Match
Lost to Korea : 14 – 17Sri Lanka’s Rank : 4th Place from 12 teams
Medalists: Gold – Japan, Silver – Hong Kong, Bronze – Korea
2018 – Jakarta, Indonesia
At 2018 Asian Games, Sri Lanka has been grouped along with South Korea, United Arab Emirates & Afghanistan in this 12 team event. The Tuskers will be desperate to go one step further while improving on their showing at the last Asian Games where they fell agonizingly short against the Koreans in the Bronze medal game. If they could make it to the Final it will be a historic achievement in the annals of the Islands Rugby history and could well be the launching pad for the game to be transformed from a domestic centric game to a more internationally focused endeavor.
To achieve this goal, National 7’s coach Peter Woods will be able to call on the experience of four players who were part of the last team that participated in the Asian Games, namely Skipper Sudarshana Muthuthanthri, Gayan Weeraratne, Danushka Ranjan & Srinath Sooriyabandara. As the teams preparations have been quite extensive with the squad participating in International tournaments such as the Borneo 7’s, Commonwealth Games 7’s & Paris World Games 7’s as well as the Domestic Club & Mercantile tournaments the team is primed to create history by claiming the first medal for Rugby at the Asian Games
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