Micky Lin of Singapore blocks Deepika of Sri Lanka. (Photo courtesy of Netball Singapore)

Micky Lin of Singapore blocks Deepika of Sri Lanka. (Photo 1 courtesy of Netball Singapore)

Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park, Friday, August 7, 2015 — Singapore began their Netball World Cup (NWC) campaign in winning style, beating long-time Asian rivals, Sri Lanka, 56-43.

It was a rematch of the final of the Mission Foods Asian Netball Championships 2014 in which Singapore won 59-41. Back in the World Netball Championships (WNC) 2011, the Sri Lankans beat Singapore 62-51.

Singapore fielded a relatively familiar side with five of the players from the 2011 WNC side. Chen Huifen and Charmaine Soh led the attack, Nurul Baizura and NWC debut Kimberly Lim were in midcourt, and Premila Hirubalan, Captain Micky Lin and NWC debut Chen Li Li held the fort in defence.

It was Sri Lanka who started the match better, putting in four shots before Singapore responded with a goal by centurion, Chen Huifen. Nerves, poor shooting and stray passes gave Singapore a shaky start.

Sri Lanka led 8-2 after seven minutes before Singapore settled into the game and had a good run of six goals, tying the score at 8-8 at 10 minutes.

After that, it was goal for goal, and the quarter ended 12-12, with Sri Lanka’s 193cm Goal Shooter, Thishala Algama, netting the shot in the last second.

Singapore started strongly in the second quarter, and led 23-14 after eight minutes. However, the nine-goal lead was quickly reduced by the Sri Lankans who played a quick, fast game, with 2.06m tall Tharjini Sivalingam not in the team.

Charmaine Soh, who had a 94% shooting accuracy (15/16 shots) in the second quarter, netted the last goal of the quarter, giving Singapore a 30-23 lead.

The second half saw the Sri Lankans closing the gap to just three goals, eight minutes into the game. Singapore’s Ang Shiqi came in to replace Chen Li Li in defence and the move saw veteran Premila Hirubalan moving in to partner Micky Lin in circle defence.

With 3 minutes of the third quarter left, Sri Lanka drew level at 34-34 before Singapore picked up their game to end the quarter with a 39-34 lead.

The last quarter was a repeat of the second quarter as Singapore exerted their superiority, taking the quarter 17-9 to wrap up the 56-43 win.

On the strategy employed against Sri Lanka, Singapore head coach Ruth Aitken said, “The Sri Lankans are bigger than our girls, so when we play too close together, we allow the Sri Lankan defence to work together. Thus, we had to run their legs off them, open things up, get the ball moving fast and once we remember to play the game properly, we are fine.”

“I thought the team played well defensively, particularly Premila, who is pretty explosive out there and when she gets on her role, then the rest of the team really lift. The fighting spirit was fantastic and our attackers created turnover balls and that was really good. Everybody contributed to the game,” said Aitken on the team’s performance.

“I thought it was a great game. Sri Lanka never gave up, we never gave up, which was fantastic. It was an excellent representation of Asian netball,“ added Aitken.

Sri Lanks’s head coach, Deepthi Alwis, was disappointed with her team’s loss.

“We started with our normal game, however, our defence line did not follow the strategy. We got blocked in the centre court and couldn’t open up the game in the third quarter even after we drew level at 34-34. With the way we played in the first quarter, we could have won with a few goals or lost with a lower margin if the players followed the strategy.”

Singapore will play their next game against Norma Plummer’s South Africa, who are ranked sixth in the world.

When asked about meeting Plummer again, Aitken said, “We will meet each other with a smile before the game. After that, it’s all about the teams.”

Score by Quarter
Singapore vs Sri Lanka
1st Q: 12-12
2nd Q: 30-23 (18-11)
3rd Q: 39-34 (9-11)
4th Q: 56-43 (17-9)

Shooting Accuracy
Singapore
Charmaine Soh – 39/55 (71%)
Chen Huifen – 17/25 (68%)

Sri Lanka
Thishala Algama – 34/39 (87%)
Semini Alwis – 9/11 (82%)

Singapore Starting Lineup
Charmaine Soh (GS), Chen Huifen (GA), Kimberly Lim (WA), Nurul Baizura (C), Premila Hirubalan (WD), Lin Qingyi (GD), Chen Li Li (GD)

Sri Lanka Starting Lineup
Thishala Algama (GS), Semini Alwis (GA), Gayanjali Amarawansa (C), Deepika Abeykoon (C), Chathurangi Jayasuriya (WD), Gayani Dissanayaka (GD), Chamarika Viraji (GK)