Asian Netball Championships underway in Singapore

Singapore – The 11th edition of the M1 Asian Netball Championships (M1 ANC) commenced on September 1 with all 12 nations competing in the tournament geared up and ready to take each other on at the Singapore Sports Hub until September 9, 2018.

The team captains from the various competing countries came together on August 31 for a glimpse of the elusive Asian Netball Championships trophy in front of the iconic Marina Bay Sands.

Captain of Team Singapore Vanessa Lee is expecting tough competition, and said: “For the upcoming M1 Asian Netball Championships, we’re expecting many close games as the Asian region is getting much stronger at netball. The scores are getting much closer, so we are definitely preparing for tight contests between all the teams.“

One of the teams to beat is Malaysia, with captain Nur Syafazliyana Mohd Ali also commenting on having the finals in sight: “We are aiming to defend our Asian Netball Championships title here, but most importantly, we’re hoping to at least make the finals at the tournament.”

The region’s most prestigious netball championship promises to be the most competitive yet as for the first time, 12 Asian nations will be competing, captain Ana Thea Cenarosa from the Philippines remarked on competing in their maiden event: “We’re really excited about the M1 Asian Netball Championships but we’re also really nervous. Our mindset for the tournament is to give our best in everything, and this competition is important to us as we’ll need to do well to improve our ranking in order to have netball featured at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines.”

Team Singapore took on Brunei in the first match on opening day at the M1 ANC at 1pm, followed by Malaysia against Japan, before Chinese Taipei contest Sri Lanka.

Team Philippines, however, lost their first game to Thailand, 36-71, the final game of the first day at 7pm. But they will see action again versus HongKong today at 3 p.m.

Expect a week of scintillating netball from the Asian Nations including top trophy contenders Singapore and Malaysia – the defending champions of the Asian Netball Championships – and Sri Lanka – who have won the most number of Asian Netball Championship titles with four. Also participating in the tournament are Hong Kong, India, Japan, Maldives, Chinese-Taipei, Thailand, Pakistan, and Brunei.