Najwa first M’sian netballer to go international

KUALA LUMPUR: National netball player An Najwa Azizan will be Malaysia's first netballer to go international as the GWS Fury Netball Club based in New South Wales, Australia has shown great interest to have her in their team.

The Malaysian Netball Association (PBJM) had also agreed to release her to play for the club in the 2018 Samsung Premier League netball tournament scheduled to take place from July to September.

Speaking to reporters after the Executive Committee for Netball at the National Sports Council here yesterday, Najwa said she was excited to play with the club, describing it as a dream comes true.

“It will be a valuable experience for me because I have always dreamed of playing for a club in Australian league.

“Although I will be playing in second tier, which is an amateur league, I think it is a huge achievement as we know that Australia is the top ranked team in the world and their standards are way higher than us,” she said.

Najwa, who will depart for Australia on Saturday, said it was hoped that her participation in the foreign club would pave the way for more national netballers to go international.

She said she would also postpone her studies at the Universiti Putra Malaysia to focus on her netballing career.

For the record, Najwa was part of the national netball squad who ended the 16-year gold medal drought at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last year and she was also named the Most Valuable Player at the Asian Netball Championship 2016 in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, PBJM president Datuk Suraya Yaacob said the offer received by Najwa would open a new chapter in the national netball landscape.

“I believe it will open more doors for other Australian clubs to see Malaysian talents and to eventually offer some contracts to our girls,” she said.

In another development, Suraya said the squad was now preparing to face the Asian Championship scheduled to be held in Singapore in September.

“Our mission is to defend the title as the number one team in Asia and the championship is also important as it is the qualifying round for the World Championship in Liverpool, England, in 2019,” she added. - Bernama