Growing Into Champions

Coach says Under-21 netballers developed through Asian Youth C'ship to clinch title

- Hana Chen

The South Korean city of Jeonju witnessed the Singapore Under-21 team's foiled attempt to regain the Asian Youth Netball Championship (AYNC) title in 2023, as they lost 49-45 to defending champions Malaysia in the final.

But at the Jeonju Hwasan Gymnasium – the very place where they fell two years ago – the Republic picked themselves up on July 4, beating the same opponents 49-29 to bring home the gold for the first time since 2017.

This was the fourth consecutive time that the Causeway rivals had met in the continental final, with Singapore prevailing eight years ago before losing in 2019 and 2023.

Singapore co-captain Norah Gabriel said they did not expect to win, as "Malaysia are a challenging team", adding: "We were just focusing on our own game plan and our own process."

That was enough for them to get off to a positive start before they consolidated their advantage.

Singapore ended the first quarter with a 15-7 lead, extending their cushion to 26-14 and 37-20 after the second and third quarters respectively, before sealing victory in the final stanza against the seven-time champions.