2018 Asian netball event in Singapore
They captured the imagination of many fans when they retained their Asian Netball Championship crown on home ground in 2014.
The national netball team's profile rose again last year, when Micky Lin and Co won the SEA Games gold at the OCBC Arena.
Singaporean fans will be able to watch regional-level netball again in two years, after the Republic won the right to host the 2018 Asian Netball Championship, during the Asian Netball Federation annual general meeting in Bangkok yesterday.
The Republic beat Sri Lanka and Pakistan to host the biennial tournament, with the 2018 edition serving as the Asian qualifiers for the 2019 Netball World Cup.
Netball Singapore chief executive officer Cyrus Medora said in a telephone interview from Bangkok: "When we hosted the Asian Championship in 2014, it really lifted the profile of netball, as well as the support base here.
"That was raised to another level during the SEA Games last year, and netball will be on offer again at the SEA Games next year in Malaysia.
"We just wanted to keep the limelight on netball, build on the popularity, the support base and to use the tournament to showcase our players."
The profile of the sport has risen tremendously in the last two years, with the team even featuring in a video with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that was part of the SEA Games opening ceremony last year.
Former captain Lin, who retired from the international scene earlier this year, represented all the athletes in taking the Athletes' Oath at the Games opening ceremony last year.
INTEREST
Medora said Sri Lanka, Japan and Pakistan were originally interested in bidding for the tournament some months ago, but Sri Lanka and Japan later said they would not put in bids, and Singapore threw its name into the hat.
Sri Lanka, which hosted the 2012 edition, later returned to the fold, but Medora said the Republic was the clear winner during the voting yesterday.
He said: "We are well organised, with a good facility (OCBC Arena) and hotels near the stadium, and I think countries love coming to Singapore."
The competition is likely to take place in September 2018.
Meanwhile, Ruth Aitken's team will play Sri Lanka today in the first of the two semi-finals of this year's edition in Thailand.
The defending champions are aiming to be the first team to win the Asian title three times in a row, after triumphs in 2012 and 2014.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now