Sri Lanka’s hopes of ending a long wait for an Asian Games rugby sevens medal came to an end in disappointing fashion as they finished 7th in the men’s Rugby Sevens competition at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Sri Lanka entered the 12-team competition with high expectations after being ranked third in Asia not long ago. They made an impressive start to their campaign, defeating the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Singapore in the group stage to qualify for the Cup quarter-finals.
However, their medal aspirations were ended by China, who edged Sri Lanka 19-12 in the quarter-final. The defeat proved costly as Sri Lanka subsequently failed to recover mentally and physically, losing to the Philippines in the playoff for fifth and sixth places despite having beaten the same opponents convincingly in the group stage.
Sri Lanka then secured seventh place with a commanding 40-5 victory over the UAE.
The final standings saw Hong Kong China take the Gold medal after defeating China, while Japan secured Bronze by beating Korea. Malaysia finished fifth, with the Philippines sixth and Sri Lanka seventh.
The result will inevitably raise questions over Sri Lanka’s preparations and coaching structure. The coaching staff was changed from Peter Woods to former national Captain Fazil Marija, but the final outcome remained much the same. The squad, led by Srinath Sooriyabandara, had trained together for more than two months and was considered a well-prepared unit.
Sri Lanka Rugby has invested considerable resources in the shorter version of the game, but consistent performances at major Asian competitions continue to remain elusive.
With the Asian Rugby Sevens second leg scheduled to be held in Colombo later this month, attention now turns to what comes next.
For Sri Lanka, the Asian Games medal dream will now have to wait another four years.