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| Sunday, 23 November 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Sri Lanka sends only men's team for Thomas Cup Sri Lanka will send only a men's side to play in the preliminary rounds of the Thomas Cup to be staged in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from February 17 to 27 as the standard of the women's shuttlers (except for Chandrika de Silva) are "not upto the mark", for the Uber Cup during the same period. Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) senior official, Christo Gonawala, speaking to the Sunday Observer said that this year the preliminaries are being worked off on a "continental basis" for the first time, and Sri Lanka, plays in the Asian Continent together with other top countries in the calibre of Indonesia, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Japan, etc. Six teams only will qualify for the finals. He said: "It was in these circumstances that the SLBA decided to send only a men's side for the Thomas Cup and not for the Uber Cup. We have picked an eight-member men's pool for both the Thomas Cup and SAF Games to be staged in Islamabad from February 28 to March 9, while a six-member pool of women's shuttlers have been picked only for the SAF Games." Gonawala further said that six men's shuttlers will be selected for the Thomas Cup and that the national pool training committee of the SLBA meets on November 28 to finalise the training programmes for the players. Tentatively, training for the men starts on December 1 and for the women on January 1 under Pradeep Welagedera, who was appointed by the Sports Ministry as national coach. The final "trials" for the men are scheduled for January 19, 20 and 21 and for the women on February 2, 3 and 4. (L.G.) |
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