SINGAPORE, 9 December 2022 – The stage is set for one last day of exhilarating netball action at Nations Cup 2022, following the conclusion of the round robin stage on Friday (9 December). Singapore defeated Causeway rivals Malaysia 52-38 to finish third in the table. The hosts will battle Ireland for third place on Saturday (10 December) in a rematch of their thrilling opening game which Singapore won 47-45.

Singapore Player in action; Photo Credit - Cynergysports.com

Singapore emerged triumphant in their latest encounter with perennial rivals Malaysia, keeping them at bay as they put up a commanding performance that had elicited rapturous cheers from the OCBC Arena. The hosts came out firing and led from start to finish, keeping their momentum throughout to deny Malaysia a chance to come back. Though Malaysia were persistent in their attempts to narrow the score, Singapore held steady and consolidated their lead to close out the 52-38 win.

Singapore Player in action; Photo Credit - Cynergysports.com

Two of Malaysia’s shooters were sidelined due to injuries that occurred mid-match, but Malaysia captain Nurshamilia Md Samsudin believes that did not affect the outcome of the game. She said: “We made a lot of mistakes today. We had a tough game and we just had to keep our momentum. I’m confident we can put up a better performance tomorrow. I know my team... after what happened today, we will try to regroup because tomorrow is the last day and it’s the placing matches, so of course we’ll fight for that.”

Singapore & Malaysian Player in action; Photo Credit - Cynergysports.com

Singapore co-captain Toh Kai Wei said: “We took a little while to get into the game today, and we want a stronger start tomorrow. We’ll review the first game and work on some areas, such as shorter passes. We will work on those and reduce passes that cross courts, which will allow interceptions and missed passes. We want to be more controlled for that in tomorrow's game.”

Singapore & Malaysian Player in action; Photo Credit - Cynergysports.com

Wing attack Kimberly Lim vowed the team would go all out for their last game, adding: “I don’t feel we gave our best game that day (during the first match against Ireland). We can and will do better – tomorrow will show how much we have grown in this competition.”

In the earlier game, Fiji closed out their round-robin campaign with a 62-36 win over the Singapore A team, placing second in the league table behind Botswana.

Singapore & Fiji Player in action; Photo Credit - Cynergysports.com

Singapore & Fiji Player in action; Photo Credit - Cynergysports.com

Singapore A vice-captain Laura Low noted her team gave a creditable performance against a more experienced side. She added: “The intensity of such games definitely helps, especially for those of us who are under 21 and working towards the Asian Youth Championships next year. To be able to pick themselves up against an Opens side is a really good experience. We came in without expectations; we knew we were underdogs and we just wanted to give our best shot. We’ve been building throughout the games and tomorrow is the final one – we’re going to give it our last, best push and hopefully we’ll end off with a good result that we’re all proud of.”

Singapore & Fiji Player in action; Photo Credit - Cynergysports.com

About Netball Singapore

Netball Singapore is the national body for netball in SG. Our programmes and events are catered to the masses. Established in 1962, it has become a professionally run National Sport Association today, which generates a proportion of its expenditure through donation, sponsorship, and other means of revenue-generation, in addition to funding from Sport Singapore.