Sri Lanka to host 2nd South Asian Sepaktakraw Championship

The 2nd South Asian Sepaktakraw Championship will be hosted by Sri Lanka in January next year.

The Amateur Sepaktakraw Association of Sri Lanka was selected to host the event at the second annual general meeting of the South Asian Sepaktakraw Federation (SASTAF), held in Hyderabad, India on June 23.

SASTAF was established in 2011 in Bangkok with the participation of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. The 1st SASTAF championship was held in Nepal in 2012 and after a lapse of four years the 2nd SASTAF championship is to be staged in Sri Lanka.

“Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara has given the blessings and approval to the SASTAF to table the proposal at the meeting in India and also assured to meet half of the budgetary cost of the championship,” said T.Nizam Hajireen, president of the association in Sri Lanka and a senior vice-president of the Asian and world body.

“The Sri Lankan Sepaktakraw Association has been working round the clock to raise the required funds of Rs. 3,950,000/- to stage the championship successfully and had formed various committees to oversee the booking of a suitable indoor facility hotel accommodation, transport, technical staff, training of liaison officers for participating teams, training of the national men and women teams etc,” Hajireen further stated.

Saman Priyankara, the secretary-general of the association is a council member of the Asian Sepaktakraw Federation.