Singapore U-21 netball team falls at final hurdle but proud of tournament performance

SINGAPORE – It was a bad case of deja-vu for Singapore Netball on Saturday, as its national Under-21 squad was beaten 49-45 by Malaysia in the final of the Asian Youth Netball Championship (AYNC) in Jeonju.

This was the third meeting between the Causeway rivals in the final.

The Malaysians had also beaten the Republic to win the previous edition in Japan in 2019 while the Republic had prevailed during their 2017 final, when the tournament was also staged in the South Korean city.

On Saturday, Singapore had gone into the half-time break leading 23-22 but could not hold on to their lead when play resumed.

Malaysia ended the third quarter with a 37-34 lead, before displaying clinical finishing in the final quarter to seal the win and clinch their seventh Asian Youth title.

Singapore coach Yeo Mee Hong said that the consistency and accuracy of the teams’ shooting proved to be the difference in the end.

She said: “We have to work on and practise shooting under pressure. We had more attempts than Malaysia but did not convert them.

“The girls should take it one point at a time instead of trying to rush the shots.”

Co-captain Rachel Ling, 20, said that the loss in the final will be a crucial learning lesson for her team in holding their nerve.

The centre said: “We had the upper hand in the game but we let Malaysia slip away. We need to learn how to manage our own emotions and nerves and work better under pressure.

“But I am very proud of this team for how we have done in South Korea and we did well in lifting each other up when we needed to.”

There is still a whole lot of netball to be played for the rest of the year as the players from the Under-21 team look to earn their places in Singapore’s squad for July’s Netball World Cup in South Africa, the Nations Cup in October and November’s Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games in Thailand.

Yeo said the performance of her team at the AYNC only bodes well for the future.

Singapore had topped the group stage with a 100 per cent record, beating Brunei (90-8), Chinese Taipei (82-13), South Korea (92-6) and Sri Lanka (51-29) before a 58-15 win over Hong Kong on Friday in the semi-finals.

She said: “This team was formed only in March and, in this short period, they have already shown lots of improvement. Overall, they have had a fantastic tournament.

“When we are back (in Singapore), we will take a break and then get back to training, tidy up some of our errors and keep improving.”

Ling, who was playing in the AYNC for the first time, is eager for more competitions like this.

She said: “It was a good opportunity for us to come here because we don’t get exposed to this level of intensity. Playing these kind of opponents allows us to level up and improve our game.”