Pow-ering to glory
Mei Foong defers graduation in search of Games gold
POW MEI FOONG has deferred her graduation because of the SEA Games.
Mei Foong’s sacrifice paid off yesterday when she powered Malaysia to a 64-27 win over Brunei in the five-nation netball round- robin tournament at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara.
It was Malaysia’s second win follo owing the 73-30 thumping of Thailand onn the opening day on Monday.
The 24-year-old centre was in he er element as she navigated her way cleverlyl l through the Brunei defence.
Combining superbly with wing attack Puah Pei San and wing defence Yap Sup Kuen, they kept feeding the ball tirelessly to the shooters. And the towering goal shooter Norashikin Kamalzaman rose to the occasion, scoring an impressivep 53 goals in 58 attempts.
Mei Foong, a final year marketing management student at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia ( UTM) in Skudai, hopes that her sacrifice will be rewarded with a gold.
“I’m supposed to graduate this October but I’ve to postpone it because of the SEA Games. My batch will complete their final year but II’ve to prod on for one more year. But it’s alrighht for me,” said Mei Foong.
“MyM job is to help my team go one step better at these Games. I was in the team that lost to hosts Singapore in the 2015 final (Malaysia lost 46-43).
“Our team combined well although Brunei made it difficult today. The defenders played their parts too. It was a great team effort.”
National coach Tracey Robinson is now looking forward to the clash against Singapore today.
“I’m happy with the flexibility I have in fielding different players in different quarters,” said the Australian.
“I can field anyone depending on their style of play. That’s our strong point. So far we kept the game plan right against Brunei and Thailand.
“We’ll get a sneak preview of the final when we face Singapore tomorrow. I hope the fans will come and support us,” she added.
In another match yesterday, Thailand registered their first win by whipping the Philippines 86-16.