The Sri Lankan girls’ and boys’ outfits secured 7th and 8th places, respectively, at the Under-18 Asia Cup 2025, which was concluded at the Dazhou National Hockey Training Centre in China. The formidable Japanese side clinched the men’s title by beating the Pakistan side with a 3 – 0 margin. Japanese lasses never looked back and were up to the task and clinched the women’s title by edging out the strong Chinese lineup with a score of 1 – 0.
Men’s Tournament
Sri Lankan lads faced the challenge from Indonesia in the 7th place classification match. The Lions came to the game with a positive mentality after comfortably beating the Hong Kong side with a 2 – 0 score margin.
The vice captain from Trinity College, Mohommad Arkam, came to the party as he managed to score the first goal in the 11th minute of the 1st quarter. But Indonesia came back with a goal in the final seconds of the same quarter to square things. Until half-time, the scorers were not troubled again. In the third quarter, Indonesia took the lead by scoring their second, and five minutes later, they had managed to extend their lead by scoring their third goal.
In the final quarter, Sri Lankans tried really hard to counter attack, but the resilient Indonesian side prevailed with their rock-solid defense to close the game with a 3 – 1 dominating victory.
In the cup semifinals, Japan comfortably beat the rising Bangladeshi side with a 6 – 4 score margin, while Pakistan edged out Malaysia in the penalty shoot-out (4 – 3) after being 3-all at the full-time whistle. In the finals, the Japanese side emerged victorious and clinched the title by beating Pakistan with a thumping 3 – 0 win.
Women’s Tournament
Sri Lanka vs Chinese Taipei
In the 5-8th classification segment, Sri Lanka started with zero points as Chinese Taipei beat them with a score of 3-0 in the preliminary stage, and the points gained in that encounter were carried forward to the next segment.
Sri Lanka vs Uzbekistan
Then, Sri Lanka battled with Uzbekistan, and rivals managed to establish a lead just before the short whistle. Though both teams displayed an attacking strategy, scorers were not troubled again during the second and third quarters of the game. In the final quarter, the captain, Nesadhi Hirushika Samarakoon, stood firm and managed to find the back of the net and gave her side the much-anticipated equaliser. During the final minute, Uzbek ladies scored their second to seal the deal against spirited Sri Lankan lasses.
Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong China
In the final game of the placement segment, Sri Lanka faced Hong Kong China, and the 1st quarter went without a goal. In the second quarter, Hong Kong China managed to find the back of the net, and their 1 – 0 lead was stable until the final whistle.
Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong China (7th place classification encounter)
After having a disastrous run without any win, Sri Lankan lasses were through to the 7th place classification encounter against the same opponents of the previous game. Both sides managed to fight tooth and nail, though there wasn’t any goal scored during the initial three quarters. Finally, the vice captain from Holy Family Convent, Wennappuwa, Tharushika Subhasinghe, scored a brilliant goal to earn a hard-fought victory by ending the bad patch of the Sri Lankan outfit.
In the finals of the girls tournament, the Japanese side managed to edge out their arch-rivals, the Chinese girls, with a slender margin of 1-0 goals.
Final Stadings
Boys Tournament
- Japan
- Pakistan
- Malaysia
- Bangladesh
- Uzbekistan
- China
- Indonesia
- Sri Lanka
- Chinese Taipei
- Kazakhstan
- Hong Kong China
Girls Tournament
- Japan
- China
- Bangladesh
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
- Chinese taipei
- Sri Lanka
- Hong Kong China
