Lankans aim high in Davis Cup
The Sri Lanka team for the Davis Cup (Asia/Oceania Zone Group III) to
be staged in Manila, Philippines from July 19 to 23 are presently
undergoing final preparations at the Asian Tennis Academy in Bangkok,
Thailand. They left for Manila yesterday from Bangkok.
According to team sources, youngsters Harshana Godamanne and Amrith
Rupasinghe will play in the Singles, while the Doubles combination will
be veteran Rohan de Silva and Rajiv Rajapakse.
The Sri Lanka team is managed by Vasantha Wijesekera with former
national champion Jayendra Wijesekera, himself a former Davis Cup
veteran, as non-playing captain. The Sri Lankans are aiming high -
finish among the top two, and secure promotion to Group II next year
(2007) and the other countries vying for honours in Manila are
Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and
Myanmar.
The draw takes place in Manila on Tuesday (July 18) with the eight
countries drawn into two groups with the top two sides in each group
qualifying for the final play-off to decide the sides to gain promotion.
Sri Lanka were fourth last year (2005), and the toughest opposition
for them will be from the Philippines and Vietnam who will field their
US based players.
(L.G.) |