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| Sunday, 13 October 2002 |
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Sri Lanka and Taiwan clash for bronze in rugby by DINESH WEERAWANSA reporting from South Korea ULSAN, Oct. 12. - Sri Lanka has dropped fullback Nalaka Weerakkody for tomorrow's crucial game against Taiwan, which would determine the bronze medal of the 14th Asian Games 15-a-side rugby tournament to be played at Ulsan Public Stadium here tomorrow (13), some 70km off the main Games city Busan. Team sources said Weerakkody is to be dropped from the original final XV for the game after he failed to live up to expectations in the last game. Winger Radhika Hettiarachchi will be moved down to take Weerakkody's place in the last line of defence. Hettiarachchi's positional change would see Indrajith Bandaranayake pairing off with Kapila Knowlton as wingers. Centres P.D.N.Fernando and young Rajitha Jayasundara, who formed a better combination in the last game against Japan, will continue to serve in the Lanka 'line'. But a question mark still hangs on the fitness of second rower Savantha de Saram, who has been nursing an ankle injury, sustained during Sri Lanka's 6-129 loss to Japan four days ago. If De Saram is declared fit tomorrow morning, he will pair off with Sumedha Jayasinghe while Ravi Jayasuriya and Pavithra Fernando will play as flankers with skipper Harris Omar as the No. 8. If Sri Lanka lose the services of Savantha de Saram, Ravi Jayasuriya will be moved to the second row to pair off with Sumedha Jayasinghe with Herathge Karunaratne joining experienced Pavithra Fernando as flankers. Sri Lanka will stick to its halves combination of Champika Nishantha and Sajith Mallikarachchi. Both Sri Lanka and Taiwan have lost two games each to Japan and South Korea. Hence, Sunday's game will be important for both the teams and would determine the bronze medal of 15-a-side rugby competition of the 44-national game in this beautiful South Korean harbour city. Sri Lanka had a convincing 2-0 lead when the two teams met in a Rugby Union Test series for the last time in Sri Lanka last year. But the team from Taipei is a vastly improved and experienced side here and should have the edge in the much-looked forward to game. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka has the ability to pull off that much needed win if they play to their true potential and it would also be a morale booster before next month's 2002 Rugby Asiad in Bangkok, Thailand. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Ranil Tharaka lost his men's welterweight 78kg second round fight to China's Yang Liu in the 14th Asian Games taekwondo meet continued at the Gudeok Gymnasium, Busan. The Chinese advanced to the third round on the score of superiority over the Lankan. In the first round of the same event, Tharaka had the better of Antonie Abou Jaoude of Libya, who was disqualified. Sri Lankan Nifaz Jurangpathy was beaten by Indian Salauddin Ansari, who won his men's kumite 75kg preliminary round meeting on points (8-0) at the karate-do competition of the 14th Asian Games at Yangsan College Gymnasium, Busan today. |
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