Netball coach Aitken talks up SEA Games hype
Coach Aitken is moved by excitement ahead of the SEA Games; warns netball team of complacency
Pre-competition hype is nothing new to Singapore national netball coach Ruth Aitken.
The 58-year-old led giants New Zealand for 10 years and guided them to one world championship crown and two Commonwealth Games gold medals.
But the affable coach says the hype surrounding the upcoming 28th South-east Asia (SEA) Games here is nothing she has seen before.
"This is way more important than the Asian Netball Championships (which Singapore won last year)," she said, at the sidelines of Netball Singapore's sponsorship announcement with Volkswagen Group Singapore yesterday.
"In Singapore, there's more hype than there was in New Zealand for the Commonwealth Games.
"It's amazing how much support there is for our team and it's about embracing that excitement but still staying calm enough to deliver our product."
The team, the Asian champions and heavy SEA Games favourites, returned last week from a training tour in Fiji, where they played four matches against the hosts and Papua New Guinea.
"We did that (same trip) last year before the Asian championships and that worked out well for us, so we are hoping that it would be the same again," said Aitken.
This is only the second time netball will feature at the SEA Games, which is officially scheduled from June 5 to 16.
THREAT FROM MALAYSIA
The first, in 2001, saw the Singapore women go down to hosts Malaysia in the final in Kuala Lumpur.
While Malaysia present the only real threat in Singapore's quest to win their first SEA Games gold, Aitken is guarding her team against over-excitement and complacency ahead of the tournament, which will feature a round-robin format and kicks off at the Sport Hub's OCBC Arena on May 31, with the final on June 7.
Said the Kiwi: "After the Asian championships, people now expect us to win (the SEA Games); they think we just have to turn up to win, which is not quite how Malaysia will be approaching the competition.
"They are our top opponents, they are a talented team and we respect them.
"While the rest of the teams are inexperienced, we do have to make sure that we deliver our game plan against them well to put ourselves in the best position for the match against Malaysia."
Yesterday, the team received a boost from Volkswagen Group Singapore, which presented them with a seven-seater Volkswagen Touran TDI to use this year.
The diesel-powered car will be used primarily by Aitken as well as the national players for training and other team commitments.
Volkswagen Group Singapore managing director Steffen Schwarz said: "Netball Singapore has a reputation for excellence and a tradition of success, which makes it a great fit for the Volkswagen brand.
"I am confident that the players and officials from Netball Singapore will appreciate the space, versatility and performance of the Touran."
"In Singapore, there's more hype than there was in New Zealand for the Commonwealth Games.
It's amazing how much support there is for our team and it's about embracing that excitement but still staying calm enough to deliver our product.
— Singapore national netball coach Ruth Aitken on the upcoming SEA Games"
37 Day to go
BH FILE PHOTO
37: Vincent Ang (above), 37, the perceived bad boy of cycling who used to run red lights, has been training with a borrowed bike after his bicycle was run over by a car last month.
He will be competing in the road race and criterium events, alongside teammates such as Low Ji Wen and Noel Teh. - DAVID LEE
PHOTO COURTESY OF SINGSOC
37: The theme for Woodlands Ring Primary School's formation is flora and fauna as it ties in with the school's focus on science.
This is demonstrated through how their classes are named after 14 different flowers. The pupils have represented each of these flowers on the digits three and seven using recycled materials.
The school chose to create this sculpture mainly out of recycled cardboard boxes and paper as it is a core belief of the school to go green.
"Our five core values of Care, Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Integrity are also displayed on this sculpture as they are the guiding principles that mould our pupils," said Mdm Liane, Art Club Teacher, Woodlands Ring Primary School.
Fourteen flowers, five values, coupled with 17 years of history, make the school Woodlands Ring one family. Add the numbers up and you'll get 37, the formation number.
Good day for Feng and Yu
Paddlers Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu are through to the last 16 of the women's doubles at the World Table Tennis Championships in Suzhou, China.
Yesterday, the Singaporeans, bronze medallists at the 2013 world championships, beat Iran's Mahjobeh Omrani and Neda Shahsavari 4-0 in the first round, and the Swedish tandem of Matilda Ekholm and Croatia's Lea Rakovac 4-2 in the Round of 32.
Feng and Yu will meet Hong Kong's Jiang Huajun and Tie Yana today. The two Singaporeans are also through to the second round of the women's singles - world No. 4 Feng beat Romania's Cristina Hirici 4-0, while Yu beat Hong Kong's Li Ching Wan 4-1.
Feng will meet Germany's Sabine Winter in the second round today, while Yu faces Portugal's Leila Oliveira.
In the men's singles, Gao Ning will face Brazil's Gustavo Tsuboi in the second round today, after beating Belgium's Jean-Michel Saive 4-1 yesterday.
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