KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 -- Malaysia's hopes of remaining in the Premier Division were dashed after they lost 59-19 to Division One champions Sri Lanka in the playoff match of the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) 2025.
Sri Lanka ran in nine tries to pulverise Malaysia at the Racecourse Stadium in Colombo.
Dinal Ekanayake starred for the home team with three tries while Janidu Madushanka scored two. Naveen Marasinghe, Danushka Ranjan, Dahan Wickramarachichi and Akash Madushanka chipped in with one try apiece while Mursheed Zubair Dora made seven conversions.
Malaysia replied with three tries from the naturalised Etonia Vaqa Saukuru, with Nazreen Fitri Nasrudin and Amirul Aqil Kamsol converting one each.
The defeat saw Malaysia relegated from the elite group in Asia to Division One.
Malaysia were forced to play in the playoff after finishing last in the Premier Division, having lost to South Korea (55-5); Hong Kong (70-6); and the United Arab Emirates (62-19).
-- BERNAMA
