Singapore saved their best for last as the Vandas successfully defended their Asian Netball Championships crown with a commanding 57–33 victory over Hong Kong in Saturday’s final.
The Vandas took control from the opening whistle, converting at 100 per cent in the first quarter as they raced to a commanding 23–10 lead.
Hong Kong managed to slow Singapore down in the second period, but the defending champions remained firmly in control at 32–20 by half-time before stretching their advantage to 48–26 after three quarters.
There was to be no way back for the hosts as Singapore closed out the 57–33 victory to retain their Asian crown.
Amandeep Kaur Chahal was near flawless under the post, missing just once all game to finish with an exceptional 97 per cent shooting accuracy, while captain Toh Kai Wei also played a key role in a Singapore attack that shot at 83 per cent overall.
For Toh, the victory was the culmination of hard work over the past few months and a timely reminder of what the team was capable of after a tournament that had not always gone to plan.
Toh said: “We really showed that we wanted this. We are very glad that our effort paid off – all the training and all the bonding that we had. We really showcased all the skills that we had on court today. We’re very happy to be able to go to the World Cup and also to win today’s title.”
The final was a much more convincing showing than Singapore’s first meeting with Hong Kong in the round-robin stage, when the Vandas came away with a 53–40 victory.
Their journey through the tournament was not entirely smooth either. Singapore suffered a defeat to regional rivals Malaysia during the round-robin stage, leaving the defending champions second in the standings and setting up a semi-final against third-placed Sri Lanka. Malaysia, who finished top, faced fourth-placed Hong Kong in the other semi-final.
But Singapore stepped up during the semi-finals, producing one of their best performances of the tournament to overcome Sri Lanka 82–54 and book their place in the final. Hong Kong then sprung an upset against Malaysia, earning themselves both a place in Saturday’s title decider and qualification for next year’s Netball World Cup.
While head coach Tara Steel felt Singapore’s execution in the final was not quite as sharp as it had been against Sri Lanka, their blistering start ensured they were always in control.
“We had an excellent start and put Hong Kong under scoreboard pressure from the outset, which ensured that we were in control for the match,” she said.
“Once we got to the game today, the start put the game to bed pretty quickly. We took control and took the home crowd out of it a little bit for Hong Kong too.”
There was another positive for Steel in the contribution of Singapore’s younger players. Injuries opened the door for several young athletes to join the senior squad, and Steel was pleased with the way they responded throughout a demanding seven-match campaign.
“I’m particularly happy that we were able to get four of our youth athletes into our team once we had some injuries, and they all stood up across the week and in the performance today as well,” she said.
“Across the entire tournament, I thought the team played exceptionally well.”
