FLYING START IN NETBALL

'Confidence booster' as Nations Cup holders Singapore thrash Canada 78-20

- Lin Tianbao

Despite a flying start to their Mirxes Nations Cup title defence on Sept 1, hosts Singapore felt there is still room for improvement.

The Republic, who won the 2023 tournament after losing their opening match to Papua New Guinea, ensured there was no repeat of that slip-up as the world No. 25 side beat an unranked Canada team 78-20 at the OCBC Arena.

Expressing her delight, Singapore coach Annette Bishop said: "It does put us in a bit of a better position. Last year, we lost this first game, so it made it a bit harder. But we take every game one at a time, and to get the win is great.

"The first game's always the hardest. And with Canada, we weren't going to take them lightly, but we did make quite a few mistakes, so we'll need to tighten those up. But I'm really pleased we've got everyone out on court, and there are a few things that we were trying, and they were actually putting those into play."

Singapore took an early 6-2 lead before scoring three straight goals to end the first quarter with a 19-6 advantage.