| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam will send a netball team for the 12th Asian Netball Championship 2018 which will be held at the OCBC Arena at the Singapore Sports Hub in Singapore from September 1-9.
A flag-handing over ceremony to the netball team for the 12th Asian Netball Championship, Singapore was held at the Green Room of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium.
Present during the event was Her Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Lubabul Bolkiah.
Her Royal Highness was greeted upon arrival by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin.
The event began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah led by Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Setia Raja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Haji Awang Suhaili bin Haji Mohiddin followed by the handing over of Brunei Darussalam’s flag by the minister to Her Royal Highness as the Captain of the Brunei Darussalam netball team to the 12th Asian Netball Championship 2018 in Singapore.
Before the event concluded, a Doa Selamat was read by Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Setia Raja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Haji Awang Suhaili.
On the sidelines of the event, Brunei Darussalam netball coach Jane Searle said, “I think the training that we have done and the exposure against the Terengganu State Team was excellent for us.”
The national netball team have just returned from an exposure series in Singapore against tougher opposition ahead of the regional meet.
“In Singapore, they play at a much higher level. While we did improve, we still have room for improvement and they really pushed us hard so we know what we’re up against when we go the next time.
“But we could have not asked for a better competition. We need strong, tough competition to push us all the way and we gave every player an opportunity while we were in Singapore. So, we didn’t just put our best team on the court and we needed to get everyone the exposure and the chance to improve,” added Searle who was recently appointed as the national netball coach.
“With that in mind, I wasn’t particularly worried about the scores. At the end of the day, it is the next tournament that is going to count the most.”
She added that new acquisitions were installed to the team to bolster the defence due to injury.
The Australian encouraged the players to play regularly in other countries to help boost their level of performance and translate their form in the international level.
“I think that we really need to focus on getting a regular season. Clubs need to regularly play each other in competitions and it would help improve their performance. I think the national team saw the effects of not having a regular competition,” said the 1983 world champion.
Asked about their expectations in the championship, she replied, “If we play our best netball we can compete and that is what we are aiming to do.”