Three Sri Lanka hockey teams participating in the 2022 Masters Hockey World Cup in Nottingham, England fared miserably amid injuries, lack of players due to visa issues and being outclassed by European teams.
The Over 40 men’s team led by goalkeeper and ex-national captain DC Perera conceded double-digit goals in all the pool games except one. The team coached by former Sri Lanka stars Otto Preena and Ashok Peiris conceded 71 goals in six pool B matches of this 14-team competition.
They lost to Germany 11-0 in the first game and fought back against France going down 5-1 followed by humiliating losses to England 12-0, Wales 12-1, Ireland 16-0 and South Africa 15-0.
Comprising 16 mostly ex-national players, the coach and manager of the team were also forced to play after the visa request for three players were rejected.
Manager cum player Duncan Devendra scored the only two goals for Sri Lanka against France and Wales, both through penalty strokes.
In the Over 35 men’s category, the Sri Lankan team led by ex-national player and goalkeeper Prasanna Heenatigala conceded 52 goals in four pool B matches of the 10-team event. They lost to Spain 9-0, England 15-0, Ghana 11-1 and South Africa 18-0. Rasiah Sathya scored the only goal against Ghana. The over 35 men’s squad also comprised 15 players instead of 18.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau was their main sponsor with Nippon Paint as co-sponsor while SriLankan Airlines was the official airline partner for the team.
Sri Lanka's over 40 women's team sponsored by Hirdaramani Group were without seven players from the original tour squad because of visa issues. They put on a good show against Ghana in the first match losing 5-0 followed by heavy losses to USA 9-0, Germany 15-0, Scotland 11-0 and England 22-0 in pool B.
The team’s assistant manager Achala Perera had to take the field after two goalkeepers could not make the tour. “There are two kinds of turf grounds in this centre with six pitches. One is maintained with water, the other under the carpet is sand. The sand one does not meet water. That is tough for the ladies on their legs. The game with the US was on that pitch. But proud the ladies paced with their speed without having the same facility. When you are a hockey player coming from the hardest history to this age, it’s easy to adapt to anything,” said Ruwaiza Sella, manager of the Sri Lanka women’s team.