SINGAPORE- The Republic got off to a winning start at the 2015 Netball World Cup with a 56-43 victory over Sri Lanka at Sydney's Allphones Arena on Friday.
Fresh from a gold medal winning campaign at June's 28th SEA Games, the Singapore team recovered from a slow start to record an opening day win.
Goal shooter Charmaine Soh led the scoring with 39 points, converting 71 percent of 55 attempts while Chen Huifen scored 17 points.
The Sri Lankans started off the better team as they raced into a 4-0 lead in the early stages but after Singapore netted their first goal through Chen, the Singapore side went from strength to strength as they tied the first quarter at 8-8.
It was a new-look Sri Lanka team, who blooded youngsters and are without key player Tharjini Sivalingam, the lethal 2.06m-tall goal shooter.
Singapore then won the second quarter 18-11, before losing the third quarter 9-11.
But clinical shooting in the final quarter from Soh and Chen meant that Singapore would clinch the final quarter 17-9 and record an important win in Pool C.
Singapore, ranked 15th in the world, will now prepare for a tough test in the form of South Africa on Saturday, who are ranked fifth.
At the last World Cup held in Singapore in 2011, the hosts lost all three matches in the group stage.
