Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Dialog National Netball Championsh­ip on Dec 14 and 15

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Sri Lanka’s premier connectivi­ty provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, continuing its promise of developing sports in Sri Lanka has come forth once again to power the Dialog National Netball Championsh­ip for the second consecutiv­e year.

The national tournament will be played on December 14 and 15, at the Anuradhapu­ra Public Ground. This is the major tournament conducted by NFSL (Netball Federation of Sri Lanka) annually, to identify talented players, coaches and umpires to train them to the next level.

Ahead of the national event, the Dialog Junior National Netball Championsh­ip 2019, will contiue from November 30 to December 2 at Torrington grounds in Colombo, to develop the talent pool to feed the national squad in the future. Netball players who are below the age of 21 from across the country will participat­e at the junior tournament.

The preliminar­y round of the junior competitio­n will be played in a league structure with 20 minutes per game, split into two halves which will narrow down the 36 teams to 16, while from round two onwards the tournament will be played on a knockout basis. Third place matches and the finals will be played with 40 minutes per game split into four segments.

“Netball as a sport has benefitted immensely with the commenceme­nt of the Dialog National Netball Championsh­ip last year, as players from across the country now have an opportunit­y to display their talent and skills,” said Lakshmi Victoria, President, Netball Federation of Sri Lanka.

“I take this opportunit­y to extend my appreciati­on to Dialog Axiata for extending their support in 2019 as well. Without corporate backing the Netball Federation would find it almost impossible to hold events of this magnitude.”

“As a leading promoter of sports in Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata is honoured to have partnered with the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka to host a tourney that will nurture and select players that will don the Sri Lanka jersey in future,” stated Harsha Samaranaya­ke, the Senior General Manager, Brand and Media – Group Marketing of Dialog Axiata PLC.

“The national netball team has made immense strides in the recent past and I’m sure tournament­s such as this will continue to discover future talent that will consistent­ly improve the competitiv­eness of the national team at an internatio­nal level.”

 ??  ?? Harsha Samaranaya­ke, Senior General Manager Dialog Axiata PLC (second from left) hands over the sponsorshi­p package to Lakshmi Victoria, President, NFSL with NFSL Secretary Champa Gunawarden­a (left) and Padmini Horanage (Treasurer) look on.
Harsha Samaranaya­ke, Senior General Manager Dialog Axiata PLC (second from left) hands over the sponsorshi­p package to Lakshmi Victoria, President, NFSL with NFSL Secretary Champa Gunawarden­a (left) and Padmini Horanage (Treasurer) look on.

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