Nawalapitiya beat more fancied teams from Badulla and the Colombo District to emerge champions at the Sepaktakraw Nationals 2011 at the Indoor Sports Complex of the British School in Colombo. Garudas SC Colombo was the runners-up.
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| Nawalapitiya Sepaktakraw champions. |
Nawalapitiya was trained by T.K. Samath, a senior vice president of the Amateur Sepaktakraw Association. The third place went to the Uva Malay Association, Badulla. Fourth was the Bangsa Melayu Kotikawatte.
Teams from Badulla (Uva Malay Association), Nawalapitiya, Hambantota, Kurunegala and Kandy from the outstations and teams from Kolonnawa, Dehiwela, Maharagama and Kollupitiya in the Colombo District participated.
There was an added interest to the competition this year as Sri Lanka is scheduled to take part in the 2011 International Sepaktakraw World Cup competition to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from July 21 to 24. According to the President of the Amateur Sepaktakraw Association of Sri Lanka, treble international Nizam Hajireen, they are making all arrangements to take part in the competition.
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| Runners-up Garudas SC, Colombo.
(Pix by Rangi Akbar) |
Sepaktakraw is similar to volleyball but played instead with feet and head without the use of hands. It generates an artistic trend of varying skills to smash the ball made of synthetic fiber weighing between 160 to 170 gms with a circumference of 144 cm, in acrobatic fashion.
It is very interesting when a rally takes place between teams. In volleyball the smashing and the blocking of the shots is done only with the hands but in Sepaktakraw it is done by the foot and body airborne at the net.
The game is very popular in Asia, Europe, South and North America and has been an event at all Asian Genes since 1990.
The local championship was very closely contested and a high standard was witnessed. Following the games closely were a host of distinguished spectators, past sportsmen and women some of them being Brig. T.S.B. Salley (a past president of Sepakraw), hockey stalwart Adrian Wickremaratne, former Sri Lanka rugby skipper Anton Benedict, soccer veteran D. Kitchilan, M. Samahon and a host of others.
The chief guest was Prof. Hema Gunathileke and the Guest of Honour was Mrs. I Gunawardena, Principal of Royal Institute.
The final was officiated by International Sepaktakraw Referee T. Zahiran Hajireen assisted by Senior Referee T. Fausz Pallie. The preliminary matches were refereed by the solitary women referee Ms. Janaki Samaratunga. A striking feature at the championships was the participation of two teams from the Malaysian Association of Sri Lanka who gave the local teams a trying time.
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