Lesson learnt for Nations Cup
Captain Lee says team will improve from lessons learnt at Asian Championship
An unchanged team from the recent Asian Netball Championship will compete in the upcoming Mission Foods Nations Cup from Sept 4 to 10.
Defending champions Singapore, ranked 17th in the world, were the top seeds at the recent Asian competition in Bangkok, where they lost to Sri Lanka in the semi-finals and eventually finished third.
Captain Vanessa Lee and Co. will be up against stronger competition in the Nations Cup, which comprises Papua New Guinea (world No. 15), Zambia (16th), Botswana (18th), Canada (19th) and Ireland (25th).
Lee, 32, is confident that the team will put up a better performance at the OCBC Arena next month.
She said: "This is the second major tournament we will be playing. The more we play and train together, the more we get used to one another's style and can read one another's movement on the court.
"I believe that we will be playing stronger for the Mission Foods Nations Cup."
"The teams are all very competitive, but we relish the tough challenge," added Lee, who will be assisted by co-vice-captains Nurul Baizura and Charmaine Soh.
"We always enjoy playing at home and the support of the Singapore crowd will spur us on, so we urge our fans to come in full force to support us."
With the international retirement of stalwarts Micky Lin, Premila Hirubalan and Chen Huifen, national coach Ruth Aitken has drafted in new players such as Josephine Yeo and Zhang Ailin, who made their international debut in Thailand earlier this month.
Former Silver Ferns coach Aitken said: "The team have worked very hard for the previous tournament, which is also a very good preparation for the Mission Foods Nations Cup next month.
"Everyone, including the new members, has been stepping up and I believe that the team have the right mindset for the upcoming Nations Cup.
"The team are getting seasoned and have been showing a lot of promise, so we are looking forward to a good showing."
Singapore will start their Nations Cup campaign against Ireland on Sept 4.
- Tickets range between $3 and $90, and are available at www.apactix.com.
THE SQUAD
VANESSA LEE (CAPTAIN), CHARMAINE SOH (CO-VICE CAPTAIN), NURUL BAIZURA (CO-VICE CAPTAIN), YU MEI LING, PAMELA LIEW, ZHANG AILIN, KIMBERLY LIM, PARVEEN NAIR, JOSEPHINE YEO, CHEN LILI, SHINA TEO, AQILAH ANDIN.
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