Sri Lanka Squash is making a move in the right direction with the future in mind and will be sending two leading men’s squash players for further training in Malaysia in preparation for the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games to be held in Nepal in December.
The two players are Ravindu Laksiri and Shamil Wakeel who are the number One and Two men’s players in the country. Laksiri has won the national singles title for the past six years and Wakeel has been the runner-up on many occasions.
This is also the first time that any Sri Lankan player is sent overseas for advanced training with the intention of winning a medal at the SAF Games and the prospects look good if the training goes well for these two players according to squash officials.
Laksiri said that Malaysia has produced the second best players in Asia and training against better players will give them the advantage to enhance their standard.
“I have not faced anyone good enough who can offer stiff challenge and help me improve my level of the game in Sri Lanka. So playing against players of higher standard will be a great advantage before going for a big tournament like the SAF Games where players from India and Pakistan are bound to dominate,” said Laksiri.
The pair will leave on September 13 and will be in Malaysia for nearly two months and be trained under their best coaches and play against their top national players.