Singapore N-ballers ready to do battle

As the curtains come up on the 2011 Mission Foods World Netball Championships at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, both national netballers Jean Ng and Pearline Chan will be primed for battle as they prepare to take on Group C rivals Botswana in the opening match in front of more than 8,000 fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Both teams last met during the Singaporeans' tour of Botswana and South Africa in May, when the Singaporeans were defeated 57-39 by the world No 18 side. At the Nations Cup in 2008, Botswana also scuppered the Republic's hopes of a finals spot with a 54-45 victory in the group stage. This is the nation's second appearance at the world championships, after finishing in 10th spot in Auckland in 2007.

But Singapore coach Kate Carpenter believes that the past month of intensive training and matches will finally allow them to break their duck against the African team.

She said: "We have to be better than them in all areas on court. Following our match with them in April, we have identified the areas within the sub-units, defence, shooting circle and centre, to work on improving our performance. We need to step up and, collectively, improve ourselves as a team so as to give ourselves a realistic chance to beat them."

Netball fans at the 11,000-capacity indoor stadium can also expect a scintillating display of speed, agility and power over the July 3 to 10 world tournament, as 16 of the world's top netball nations battle for the ultimate prize.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

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