Team Singapore's Netball team clinched victory over Papua New Guinea in the Mirxes Nations Cup on Oct. 28.
This is the first time since 2007 that Singapore has won the Nations Cup title, after defeating Trinidad and Tobago 56-32 in the finals.
Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng congratulated the team on their victory on Instagram.
"We are the champions - well done, Team Singapore and Netball Singapore. Happy to join many other fans who turned up in full force and see Singapore win an exciting final match against PNG this afternoon," Seah wrote.
Hard fought victory
The competition was held at the OCBC Arena at the Singapore Sports Hub from Oct. 22 to Oct. 28.
Singapore sent two teams to the tournament, Team Singapore and Team Singapore A. Team Singapore eventually took home the winning trophy.
The team had lost 52-50 in the first match of the tournament against the same opponent that they eventually triumphed over – Papua New Guinea.
They then played against Cook Islands and Canada and won, before playing against Team Singapore A. They won 55-31.
The team then faced off against Sri Lanka and won 65-54, before entering the final match with Papua New Guinea.
The first 15 minutes of the game were fiercely contested, with both teams refusing to give an inch. However, midway through, Team Singapore made some errors, allowing Papua New Guinea to edge ahead and claim the first quarter with a lead of 18-16.
Their opponents held the lead until the second quarter, where Team Singapore managed to gain their first lead at 24-23 through solid defensive play from Jamie Lim, Aqilah Andin, and Khor Ting Fang, complemented by precise shooting from Amandeep Chahal and Toh Kai Wei.
Their lead grew wider to 10 points at 46-36, and they eventually won the match with 59-56.
Chahal, who recorded an impressive 88 per cent shooting percentage, expressed her pride in the team's strong performance.
"I'm very proud of our team for putting up a very strong fight from the beginning because we came here to prove a point. It's been very, very long since we've won the Nations Cup gold medal, and we're very proud that we actually managed to do it this year," she said.
Last one for the road
After the game, Charmaine Soh, one of the icons of the sport and the national sports scene in Singapore, announced her retirement from international netball.
Soh made her debut for Singapore against Jamaica at the Netball World Cup held in Singapore in 2011 and has since become Singapore's most-capped player with 128 caps over 12 years.
"It's been amazing from the start, from getting selected to the team and being the newbie, to now being the oldest in the team," Soh tearfully shared.
"I would like to thank my teammates and the coaches who have been with me throughout these years. I'm really thankful to them for shaping me into who I am today. And to the team, I would like to tell them to continue to work hard and ‘jia you’ to the young ones!"
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Top photo via Seah Kian Peng/Instagram and Mirxes Nations Cup