The Dialog President’s Gold Cup Volleyball tournament has reached the final stage successfully, enthralling all volleyball fans island wide.
The finals of the U22 and Open categories will be held on the 7th of December at the Youth Services Council Indoor Stadium, Maharagama.
Men’s Open
Katana United & Debagama Rantharu SC are the finalists of the Open Men’s category. They defeated the Youth Services Council team by 3-1 sets (23-25, 24-26, 25-20, 17-20) and Nattandiya United SC by 3-2 sets (33-31, 23-25, 23-25, 31-29, 11-15) in the semi-finals respectively.
Katana United
This team has managed to reach the finals of the Dialog President’s Gold Cup on 4 occassions and has been successful in clinching the title 3 times. They managed this feat from 2006 to 2009 and only lost to Siyane Tharu SC, Gampaha in 2008. After a magnificent comeback they managed to grab the title back from Siyane Tharu SC in 2009.
With the likes of some of the senior most national players like Jagath Sanjaya and Milan Jayawardena in their line-up, they feature a pretty strong team with 3 more junior national players as well.
Key Players
Janith Surath is the present captain of the National Volleyball team. He also led the Ports Authority team to the Munchee National Volleyball title a couple of weeks ago.
Deepthi Romesh, the fastest high attacking player in Sri Lanka as of now, joined the team just this year. He also participated in the Munchee National Volleyball tournament representing the Ceylon Electricity Board.
Named Best Setter in the years 2006, 2007 and 2009 Jagath Sanjaya, will not hesitate in bringing the challenge to the opponents.
Melan Jayawardena is the most experienced player in the squad. Also Morris Chaminda is another player with plenty of experience from his years in the national squad.
Squad
Thilanka Rukshan (Captain), Jagath Sanjaya, Melan Jayawardena, Janith Surath, Deepthi Romesh, Sajith Lahiru, Jayamini, Morris Chaminda, Nuwan Chamika, Kasun Lahiru, Gayan Silva, Lahiru Silva.
- Coach – Nalin Sampath
- Assistant Coach – Jagath Sanjaya
- Physical Trainer – Geeth Harshana
‘We only had a little time to train. But since we have many experienced players in our side it is a comfort for us. We are expecting a championship. We train in the Negombo area for now. We are ready.’ said Thilanka Rukshan, captain of the team, to ThePapare.com.
Debagama Rantharu SC
3 time winners of the Youth Society National Championship, Debagama Rantharu SC are in their third final of the Dialog President’s Gold Cup. They had to be satisfied with being runners-up on two occasions.
Heralding from the Kegalle district, this team features 10 players from Rajasinghe College, Ruwanwella, a renowned name in the schools’ volleyball arena.
The team has national player Gayan Madusanka and junior national player Sandun Wimalasena in their midst. Even though they lost to Katana United SC 3-1 in the group stages, this team which has a horde of young talent, can be a challenge to any team.
Key Players
Team captain Kosala Senarathne is an experienced player who has represented both the national team and the Army team.
Gayan Madusanka, is a very skilful player who represents the national team and also captained the Ceylon Electricity Board team in the recently concluded Munchee National Volleyball tournament.
Junior national cap, Sandun Wimalasena, represented both the Colombo University team as well as the Ceylon Electricity Board team and is another player to keep an eye out for.
Gayam Premaratna is a national level player who represented the Ceylon Electricity Board team.
Lasantha Pathirana is another junior national cap, who also played for the Ceylon Electricity Board team.
Out of the 12 men Debagama squad, 5 represent the Ceylon Electricity Board team and 6 play for the Army SC team.
A very experienced Chaminda Kumara is the coach for Debagama Rantharu SC. He was also the coach for the Ceylon Electricity Board team who were the runners-up of the Munchee National Volleyball tournament.
Squad
Kosala Senarathne (Captain), Gayan Premaratna, Sandun Wimalasena, Lasantha Pathirana, Rukantha Pathirana, Mahesh Chandrakumara, Sujeewa Jayathunga, Pubudu Madusanla, Priyantha Sanjeewa, Manoj Suranga, Kapila Sampath, Aruna Sanjeewa.
- Coach – Chaminda Kumara
- Assistant Coach – Thushara Nilantha
‘We hope to defeat Katana Eksath SC by 3:0 rounds. At the moment when Sri Lankan volleyball reaches 100 years, it’ll be a very special victory indeed!’ said Thushara Nilantha, assistant coach, to the ThePapare.com.
‘We have practiced consistently and are ready for anything. We hope to give a good fight and win the championship!’ were the thoughts of Captain Kosala Senarathna.
Since both teams are ready and pumped up, the final on the 7th will be quite a spectacle to watch.
Watch the Live Stream – Dialog President’s Gold Cup 2016
