SINGAPORE: Singapore’s 10-year wait for the Asian netball crown ended on Sunday (Oct 27), after a dramatic victory that came down to the wire.
The Singapore Vandas beat defending champions Sri Lanka at the 13th Asian Netball Championships in Bengaluru, India, with a score of 67-64 after extra-time.
It marks Singapore’s fourth Asian Netball Championships title and their first since 2014.
“The win definitely means a lot. The whole year, we’ve been talking about getting first in the Asian Netball Championships,” said co-captain Toh Kai Wei.
Singapore started strong on Sunday to lead 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. However, Sri Lanka fought back to narrow Singapore’s lead to 28-27 at half-time.
Sri Lanka then pulled ahead to take a 42-39 lead into the final quarter. But Singapore clawed back to tie the game 52-52, forcing the match into extra-time.
It continued to be a close affair, with both sides locked at 59-59 after the first half of extra-time. But Singapore dug deep in the second period to pull off a 67-64 victory.
“We are very happy with the performance. We are very proud of the team,” said Toh. “Kudos to Sri Lanka; they really put up a good fight to make us earn this victory.”
