:: Netball Singapore select strong squad21-11-2011

Line-up for next month’s FairPrice Foundation Nations Cup is announced

Netball Singapore today announced the squad to take part in the FairPrice Foundation Nations Cup 2011 which takes place from 5-11 December at Toa Payoh Sports Hall.

Beginning a new four-year cycle, as always occurs after a World Championships, the team of 12 has a strong focus on players from the 21 & U squad. Retirements after a major competition gives Netball Singapore the opportunity to invest in their talented youth.

Several of the 21 & U girls that have been selected for the senior squad have many years of playing experience behind them but what they lack is the experience of playing at national level, so the Nations Cup will be a real test for them and a wonderful opportunity to raise their game.

National Coach, Kate Carpenter said, “These players have shown the potential to succeed at the national level for Singapore. However potential doesn’t necessarily guarantee success so these girls will need to be working hard to earn court time.”

The squad will be Co-Captained this year by Jean Ng, Team Captain at Mission Foods World Netball Championships 2011 (WNC), and Lin Qingyi who was Vice Captain in July and showed great leadership skills.

Ng said, “The Nations Cup marks the start of a new four year build up in preparation for the next World Championships in 2015. It's an opportunity for us to "blood" new players and give them a chance to match up against two Asian teams ahead of next year’s Asian Championships, and against Fiji it will be a chance to try and avenge the loss against them in July. With a good mix of experience and youth talent, I'm proud and privileged to once again lead this campaign with my co-captain Lin Qingyi.”

The strength of the Singapore team has always come from the defensive line and this will be the case once again as Premila Hirubalan and Chen Li Li join Ng and Lin to add options at the back of the court.

The centre court also includes some experienced players such as 21&U Captain Nurula Baizura, who has just returned from a successful tour to the UK, and Vanessa Lee who has 44 international caps to her name.

The attacking positions and combinations of WA, GA and GS will be relatively untried and untested as the squad has only been together since September. With the familiar face of Chen Huifen leading the group that includes Charmaine Soh who made her debut for Singapore at the WNC 2011.

Based on the current world rankings, Singapore (21st) sits ahead of local rivals Malaysia(23rd) and African visitors Namibia (24th) with Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka just ahead on paper (17 and 18 respectively). Fiji are currently the 10th ranked team in the world but as with most squads, they are likely to field a different squad to that which appeared in Singapore for WNC so the competition is wide open for any nation to grab top honours.

Namibia now have the experience from their appearance at the Nations Cup in 2010 and will be better prepared for next month’s competition.

The hosts have played against all the nations previously but the challenge for the new players will come in adapting to the differing styles of play that Namibia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea adopt as compared with the Asian Nations.

A strong crowd of home support will be important for Singapore as they will face a challenging week of competition in what will be their first national team outing since hosting the WNC in July.

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National Squad for FairPrice Foundation Nations Cup 2011:

  1. Cassandra Soh
  2. Charmaine Soh
  3. Yu Meiling
  4. Chen Huifen
  5. Charlene Porima
  6. Nurul Baizura
  7. Vanessa Lee
  8. Shelby Koh
  9. Premila Hirubalan
  10. Jean Ng (Co-Captain)
  11. Lin Qingyi (Co-Captain)
  12. Chen Li Li

Netball Singapore
21st November 2011

 

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