The Sri Lanka U-21 women’s hockey team won their opening match of the Women’s AHF Cup 2024, defeating Hong Kong 3-2 in a thrilling Round Robin stage game in Singapore. Sri Lanka’s captain, Nipuni Fernando, was named Player of the Match.
However, Sri Lanka faced a tough challenge in their second match, suffering a heavy 12-0 defeat to Chinese Taipei. In their third game, they played against Bangladesh and lost 7-2. With one win and two losses, Sri Lanka needs to place in the top five out of seven teams to qualify for the Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup this year.
Sri Lanka has three more matches to play in the coming days. They will face Thailand, Indonesia, and host Singapore in the Round Robin stage.
In the men’s competition, the Sri Lanka U-21 team has played two matches so far. They lost their first game 3-2 against Indonesia and were defeated 5-0 in their second match against Bangladesh.
SAJEEWA JAYAKODY
