India seal semifinal berth in Asian Youth Netball C`ship

New Delhi: Indian eves have booked their berth in the semifinals of the 7th Asian Youth Netball

Championship despite suffering a 41-67 drubbing at the hands of tournament favourites Malaysia here on Wednesday. The host team lost 41-67 (13-12, 07-16, 12-21, 09-18) in the opening game on day 5 at the Thyagaraj Stadium. India`s tally now stand at two wins and three loses from the five matches they have played so far. India, however, made it to the last-four stage of the event courtesy their earlier wins over Hong Kong (61-40) and Thailand (57-44), which assured them of joining Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka in the semis. "We are in the semi-finals and we will make sure we do well there," said Indian player Manisha. "We will work on our weaknesses so that we can improve in the next game," said Neha Bajaj, Indian goalkeeper. In another match, Sri Lanka defeated Hong Kong 60-33 (15-05, 14-09, 14-08, 17-11). "Our strategy was to take big jumps and it worked, so we won," said Sri Lankan captain Akila Nimni Jayawardena. Tomorrow is a rest day while July 9 will see the competition resuming with the semi-finals. Final will be played on July 10. PTI