Singapore beat Sri Lanka to win Asian netball crown, ending 10-year wait

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s 10-year wait for the Asian netball crown ended on Sunday (Oct 27), after a dramatic victory that came down to the wire.

The Singapore Vandas beat defending champions Sri Lanka at the 13th Asian Netball Championships in Bengaluru, India, with a score of 67-64 after extra-time.

It marks Singapore’s fourth Asian Netball Championships title and their first since 2014.

“The win definitely means a lot. The whole year, we’ve been talking about getting first in the Asian Netball Championships,” said co-captain Toh Kai Wei.

Singapore started strong on Sunday to lead 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. However, Sri Lanka fought back to narrow Singapore’s lead to 28-27 at half-time.

Sri Lanka then pulled ahead to take a 42-39 lead into the final quarter. But Singapore clawed back to tie the game 52-52, forcing the match into extra-time.

It continued to be a close affair, with both sides locked at 59-59 after the first half of extra-time. But Singapore dug deep in the second period to pull off a 67-64 victory.

"We are very happy with the performance. We are very proud of the team," said Toh. "Kudos to Sri Lanka; they really put up a good fight to make us earn this victory."

At the last Asian Netball Championships in 2022, which Singapore hosted, the team finished second behind Sri Lanka. 

Last year, they won the Nations Cup - an annual netball tournament organised and hosted by Netball Singapore - and placed 15th at the Netball World Cup.

"I’m very happy with the game and the girls’ composure," said interim coach Yeo Mee Hong after Sunday’s final.

"We were also very disciplined with our passing. Our basics were fantastic, and we also treasured the ball more. This was the area we wanted to improve on."