Six months after taking a break from competitive netball to focus on school, defender Shina Teo rejoined national team training on a Thursday last month, expecting a court session.
To her surprise, it was a fitness session and a "horrible" one at that.
"I thought fitness sessions were on Tuesdays, and I wasn't mentally prepared to do sprints that day," the 22-year-old told The Straits Times yesterday.
After three weeks of training, the NTU final-year mechanical engineering undergraduate is fitter and raring to go as the national team play their first competitive match of the year against Ireland tomorrow at the Hong Kong Four Nations Tournament.
World No. 19 Singapore are the highest-ranked team in the tournament, ahead of Ireland (22), Grenada (23) and hosts Hong Kong (24).
The teams will compete in a round-robin format before the final placings are determined in two play-off matches. Singapore will meet Hong Kong on Friday and take on Grenada on Saturday.
Teo replaces 1.96m goalkeeper Chen Lili, who is sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament tear in her right knee after last December's Nations Cup tournament.
Attacker Zhang Ailin has also rejoined the team for the Hong Kong tourney, replacing Jocelyn Ng after a trial last month.
Said Teo: "I feel very happy to be back in the team... there's a lot I need to catch up on and I need to brush off the rust, so my aim for this tournament is to reconnect to the style of play."
National coach Natalie Milicich admits that the team will miss Chen's height but believes the 1.72m Teo is an able replacement after making a smooth transition back into the national fold.
"We've played quite a strong man-on game and Shina likes to attack the ball before it comes to the circle - that's something we've been working on as a defensive unit, so it works well into the back-end structure," said Milicich.
The netball girls ended last season on a high after defeating Ireland to finish third in the Mission Foods Nations Cup, and took a month-long break before resuming training.
Said captain Vanessa Lee: "Coming back from a break and just getting together, there's always the element of the unknown and we won't know where we're at until we play our first game.
"We're definitely excited for this tournament as it's a test series and the competition will always be strong, not to mention we'll meet Hong Kong again at the Asian Championships."
The Asian Netball Championships will be held in Singapore from Sept 1-9 and Milicich is hoping for a good showing from her charges in Hong Kong to get the year off to a good start.
The Republic are three-time Asian champions (2005, 2012, 2014), and were third at the last edition in Thailand two years ago.
Milicich reiterated the importance of ensuring that the best players are fielded for this year's event.
She believes the Netball Super League from March 10 to May 12 will be a "good opportunity to look at the depth in Singapore", as the training squad are usually named at the end of the tournament.
"It's a competitive environment where everyone is expected to perform and no one's spot is guaranteed," she said, adding that the team have been working on areas such as attacking transitions and fine-tuning basic skills.
"I'd like to see (the players) really stand up in Hong Kong, it's an opportunity for players to put their hands up and say, 'Pick me'."
