Sri Lanka’s men won two of their three matches on the opening day of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series finale at the Racecourse in Colombo on Saturday, while the women’s side lost both of theirs.

The men opened their Group A campaign with a 21-17 win over the United Arab Emirates, Hiru News reported. They were then beaten 17-5 by Hong Kong, before closing the day with a 26-19 win over India in a match Hiru described as tightly contested throughout.

The women’s team was beaten 53-0 by China and then lost to Kazakhstan in Group E, with Hiru reporting that the Kazakh side controlled the match from the start and scored a succession of tries. No score was published for the Kazakhstan match.

A new captain for the home leg

Sri Lanka are playing this leg under a new captain. Janidu Dilshan, formerly of Royal College and CR&FC, was appointed to lead the Sevens side for the Colombo round, Daily FT reported two days before the tournament began.

He takes over from Srinath Sooriyabandara, who stepped down after captaining the side at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, closing a 16-year international career as captain. Sooriyabandara remains in the squad as a player. Diluksha Dange, formerly of Trinity and Kandy SC, is vice-captain.

Daily FT noted that Janidu had been left out of the squad for the opening leg in China — a notable omission for a player now leading the side. The 13-man squad also includes Akash Madusanka, Isuru Kongahawatta, Shahid Zumri, Pasindu Bandara, Davinda Rathnayake, Gayan Perera, Nilesh Ragavan, Jayathu Rajarathna, Kavindu Perera and Maliksha Perera.

The leg this desk flagged in August

This is the round this desk reported in August as already scheduled, when Asia Rugby confirmed the season would conclude in Colombo on October 17 and 18. Twelve men’s and twelve women’s teams are competing across the two days, with the 2026 continental champions crowned at the end.

Sri Lanka opened the series in Suzhou, China, in August with a 49-7 win over Kazakhstan — a result worth keeping separate from Saturday’s Kazakhstan match, which was the women’s fixture. The two are different squads in different competitions.

Saturday’s results leave the men with a mixed return on home soil after a year that included a double title at the CASA Sevens in May.

Not reported

None of the filings named try-scorers, gave half-time scores, or set out Sri Lanka’s remaining fixtures or standings going into the second day.

Sources