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Netball is a ball sport played by two teams of seven players. Netball is most popular in many Commonwealth nations, specifically in schools, and is predominantly played by women. According to the INF, netball is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries. Major domestic leagues in the sport include the Netball Superleague in Great Britain, Suncorp Super Netball in Australia and the ANZ Premiership in New Zealand. Four major competitions take place internationally: the quadrennial World Netball Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and the yearly Quad Series and Fast5 Series. In 1995, netball became an International Olympic Committee recognised sport, but it has not been played at the Olympics.
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean southwest of the Bay of Bengal and southeast of the Arabian Sea. Sri Lanka has been called “the pearl of the Indian ocean” because of its shape and location. It is geographically separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and centre of commerce.
The International Netball Federation (INF), formerly the "International Federation of Netball Associations" (IFNA), is the worldwide governing body for Netball. The INF was created in 1960 and is responsible for world rankings, maintaining the rules for netball and organising the Netball World Cup.
The Sri Lanka national rugby union team has yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of the world's first rugby union in England. They regularly compete in the Asian Five Nations tournament and are currently in Division I. In the 2010 tournament, they made it to the finals beating Chinese Taipei 37 to 7.
The Asian Netball Championship is a netball competition held every two years with teams from across Asia competing. First 7 editions were held every four years, then changed to every two years starting from 2012. Sri lanka is the reigning champion of the tournament and also the most successful team, having won the Asian Netball Championships 5 times. Singapore has 3 championships and Malaysia has two. From the first edition of the tournament held in 1985, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia dominated the tournament by always finishing within the top three. Only exception is the 3rd edition of the tournament held in 1993 where host nation Hong kong managed to win the championship.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 103,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
The Sri Lanka national netball team is the national netball team of Sri Lanka. The team is coached by Thilaka Jinadasa and captained by Chathurangi Jayasooriya. As of 21 July 2019, Sri Lanka are ranked 18th in the world.
Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is Cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
The Hong Kong national netball team represents Hong Kong in international netball tournaments. They compete in the biannual Asian Netball Championship. They are currently ranked 33rd in the world.
Women started playing netball in India as early as 1926. The Sports Authority of India and the Government of India have provided much funding with the goal of improving the performance of the country's youth national team. Netball Federation of INDIA was established in 1978 by Ch Jagat Singh ChOuhan hailing from Haryana who was an alumnus of YMCA College of Physical Education of Madras and at the same year he organised the first national championships in Jind, Haryana with great contribution of Mrs Shashi Prabha. Mr Jagat Singh Chouhan was founder/father of Handball, Netball and Throwball games in India. His efforts in Germany during Munich Olympics (1972) helped in making these a legacy in India. India had a national team compete in the fifth Asian Netball Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2001. National team captains include Prachi Tehlan, who captained the side that competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Netball is promoted in Malaysia at the Sport Carnival for All (KESUMA). In 1998, 113 districts held netball competitions. That year, there were 1,718 registered netball teams in the country. In 2001, netball was sufficiently popular in South East Asia for it to be included in the 21st Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia had a national team compete in the fifth Asian Netball Championships in Colombo in 2001. Malaysia also competed in the 7th Asian Youth Netball Championship in India in 2010. Petronas, the national oil company, has been a major sponsor of netball in the country. This type of sponsorship was encouraged by the government as part of the Rakan Sukan programme.
Maldives had a national team compete in the fifth Asian Netball Championship held in Colombo in 2001.
Pakistan had a national team compete in the fifth Asian Netball Championship held in Colombo in 2001.
There are 80,000 netball players in Singapore. playing several variations of netball, including beach netball. In Singapore, the Sport Singapore is responsible for maintaining 8 netball courts. Netball Singapore is the official governing body for the sport in Singapore. It was created in 1962, with 63 registered clubs.
Netball was first played in Sri Lanka in 1921. The first game was played by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School. The first interschool march was played between Kandy High School and C.M.S. Ladies' College, Colombo in February 1925. In 1927, netball was played at Government Training College for the first time. This helped spread the game around Sri Lanka. The game was being played at Methodist College Colombo and Bishop's College by the 1930s. By 1952, Sri Lankan clubs were playing Indian club sides. In 1956, Sri Lanka played its first international match against Australia's national team in Sri Lanka. In 1972, the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was created. In 1983, Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was dissolved by the government.
Netball is popular in several parts of Asia. The IFNA Asia region includes countries such as Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The major regional competition is the Asian Netball Championship. In 1994, the first Asian Youth Championship was held in Hong Kong.
Netball is a popular participant sport in some parts of the world, particularly in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. According to the IFNA, over 20 million people play netball in more than 72 countries. IFNA member nations are divided into five regional groups: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
Matthew Abeysinghe is a Sri Lankan swimmer who has represented his country at numerous international competitions. Abeysinghe trained under his coach and father, Manoj Abeysinghe, with Killer Whale Aquatics, until his departure for higher education, where he resumed his training at The Ohio State University in the USA. Abeysinghe is regarded as the greatest swimmer and one of the most accomplished athletes Sri Lanka has ever produced.
Kyle Abeysinghe is a Sri Lankan national swimmer who has represented his country at several international competitions. At the domestic level, Abeysinghe holds numerous national records, has been national champion several times, and is a member of the Killer Whale Aquatic Club, under his coach and father, Manoj Abeysinghe.
Sri Lanka participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6 October to 18 October 2018.
