TEEN'S UNEXPECTED ROUTE

Netball World Youth Cup-bound Sanders never aimed to play 'at such a high level'

- Kimberly Kwek Sports Correspondent

Netball has been a constant in Naeya Chandra Sanders' life since she picked up the sport in primary school, but being part of the national setup was never a thought that crossed her mind.

That was until 2023, when Kok Mun Wai, who coached Sanders at CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) and her club Fier Orcas, encouraged her to go for trials for the national Under-19 squad. She was subsequently selected.

While it was her first experience in the national age groups, it changed her mindset towards competitive netball and fuelled her ambition in the sport.

After being part of the Singapore Under-21 squad who lifted the Asian Youth Netball Championship title in July, she is looking forward to her next outing at the Sept 19-28 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar.

The 19-year-old, who plays wing defence, centre and goal defence, said: "It's a really big thing for me because I don't think I ever planned to play netball at such a high level...

"I never expected myself to play at this level, so it's a really exciting thing to see how far I've come."

Growing up, Sanders was exposed to many different sports.