- Sri Lanka finishes 7th among 12 teams
Sri Lanka’s men’s rugby sevens team struggled in the opening leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens 2026 in Suzhou, China, finishing seventh of the 12 teams on the final placings.
Sri Lanka entered the tournament ranked third in Asia but did not meet expectations, although they produced several strong passages of play.
They began with a clear win over Kazakhstan in their opening pool match, using quick ball movement and aggressive defence to create separation early in the contest, according to match reports.
The team’s momentum faltered in the remaining pool games. Sri Lanka lost narrow matches to Korea and hosts China and finished third in their four‑team pool.
Because they were among the two best third‑placed teams across the pools, Sri Lanka progressed to the Cup quarter-finals, where they met Japan. Japan controlled possession and territory and recorded a 17-0 win, ending Sri Lanka’s run in the Cup bracket.
In the play-off round Sri Lanka lost 29-19 to Thailand, then closed the tournament with a 36-5 victory over Malaysia to claim seventh place overall. These scores were listed in the official results.
Sri Lanka’s women’s team won only once, defeating Malaysia in pool play, and finished 11th of 12 teams, ahead of Iran on the final standings.
Srinath Sooriyabandara captained the men’s side and Peter Woods led the coaching staff. The squad is scheduled to compete next at the Asian Games in Japan and in the home second leg of the Asian series, where officials from Sri Lanka Rugby say they will aim for improved results.
In the men’s semi-finals, Japan beat China and Hong Kong, China defeated South Korea. Hong Kong, China then beat Japan 19-7 in the final. In the women’s final, Japan defeated host China 19-7. These outcomes were recorded in the tournament reports.
