They beat Malaysia 53-48 in a tense final in Hong Kong last month.

Both Sri Lanka and Malaysia have qualified for the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup in Botswana, alongside Singapore, who finished third.

Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera made the award to the youngsters upon their return to Colombo and promised to help them find a sponsor so the sport could continue to develop on the island.

The victory in Hong Kong was the first time Sri Lanka had won the Asian Youth Championships for 13 years and Jayasekera hopes it is a good omen for the senior Asian Championships, due to take place in Thailand between July 30 and August 7. 

The senior team is currently ranked 24th in the world.

They finished 16th in the World Cup in Sydney last year. 

“We had a lot of problems in netball administration," Jayasekera told The Sunday Times in Sri Lanka. 

"But with Sri Lanka winning the Youth Netball Championships, all these problems seem to have vanished.

"I am very happy about it.

"Now our main aim is to win the Asian Senior Championship.

“It has been proved that we have a strong second string in netball. It is the second string that provides opposition to the seniors.

“Rest assured the Sports Ministry will give its full support for netball in Sri Lanka.

"Due to the fact that prevailed in netball we lost several sponsors.

"They left us because of our poor showing.

"Now the situation is bound to change.

"Sponsors are now coming back to us and we can be assured of a good future."

The team is set to receive further recognition tomorrow when they meet Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena.