COLOMBO, Sep 4 (ePRESS) — Sri Lanka’s Under-18 baseball team will leave for Taiwan on Friday night to compete at the 14th BFA U18 Asian Baseball Championship from September 7 to 13, facing a tough Group A challenge against Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong, China.
The young Sri Lankan side will be led by G.R.I.M. Wickramasingha, with T.A.R. Peiris as vice-captain, as they prepare to test their skills against some of Asia’s leading junior baseball nations.
Eight teams will compete in the championship. Sri Lanka are in Group A with Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong, China, while hosts Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand make up Group B.
Sri Lanka will open their campaign against the Philippines at Xinzhuan Stadium at 10:00 am on September 7, before taking on powerful Japan at Tien-Mou Stadium at 1:30 pm on September 8.
They will complete their preliminary-round campaign against Hong Kong, China at Xinzhuan Stadium at 6:30 pm on September 9. September 10 has been kept as a day off and rain-reserved date before the Super Round and Placement Round.
The Super Round and Placement Round will be played on September 11 and 12 before the tournament reaches its medal stage. The bronze-medal and gold-medal games are scheduled for September 13, with the final set for 6:30 pm at the Taipei Dome.
Apart from Wickramasingha and Peiris, the Sri Lankan squad includes M.A.N.I. Thennakoon, J.M.S. Sathsara, D.M.P.S.M. Dissanayaka, H.T.T. Dinsara, W.G.T. Mesandu, M.K.C.D. Thilakarathna, H.A.P.S. Bandara, C.B. Jayasinghe, B.L.T. Sankalpa, Y.B.S. Munasinghe, R.M.I.I.B. Rathnayake, A.J.S.C. Jayarathna, K.G.S.M. Karunarathne, A.G.M. Gunawardhana and M.P.P. Jayakody.
Jayalath Kumarathunga is the team manager, while Naween Anuradha is the head coach. Udaya Kantha and Japanese coach Hiroto Furuya are the assistant coaches, with Amila Bandu Pathiraja serving as trainer.
