Singapore sends youngest team to Netball World Cup, eyes tournament as stepping stone to regional success

SINGAPORE: Singapore has assembled its youngest team ever for the Netball World Cup in South Africa next week.

The country is one of just two Asian teams, along with Sri Lanka, to qualify for the 16-team championship starting on Jul 28.

The team will kick off its campaign against world number eight Uganda in their first match.

At 28th in the world, Singapore is the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, and the young cohort of players are using it as a stepping stone to future glory.

Eight out of the 15 players in the squad are aged 23 and below, making it Singapore's youngest roster ever for the tournament held every four years.

The youngest in the team is 21-year-old centre Rachel Ling, who will be making her World Cup debut.

Ling is taking a gap year to focus on the sport, after having completed her Diploma in Business Studies in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

“I think every one of us has different paths and we shouldn't feel pressured to go in a route that we don't want to. So I think for me right now, this is the best decision,” she told CNA, adding that it was not an impulsive choice to put her further studies on hold.

“I still want to explore and put myself out there for many things and also focus on netball, because it's a very important year (and) we are going to many competitions.”

For guidance, the youngsters will turn to veteran players such as 28-year-old Kimberly Lim, who has played 112 times for Singapore, including in two World Cups.

"I want the team to enjoy themselves. It's not often we get to be on such an international platform. And to really just play with the passion that they have,” said Lim.

While winning the World Cup may be too ambitious a target for Singapore, Lim hopes the team can take lessons away from the