KUALA LUMPUR, 17 Dec 2017:
Netball should be listed among national core sports – following its popularity and the outstanding performance of the national squad at the continental level throughout this year.
Malaysian Netball Association president Datuk Suraya Yaacob said she is proud of the support shown by local sports fans – which also boosted the players’ motivation to achieve success at a higher level.
“I now aspire to include netball as a core sport. Three sports, namely sepak takraw, taekwondo and weightlifting have been dropped from the list.
“So, what is wrong with listing a sport played by women? We may display better performance and bring pride to the country’s name at the international level.”
Previously, under the supervision of Stacey Robinson, Malaysia won the 2016 Asian Netball Championship held in Bangkok, Thailand – which also ended the 31-year drought of success at the continental level.
Following the win, the national squad grabbed the gold medal in the 2017 SEA Games in August.
In the effort to promote the sport, Suraya said the association would organise the Netball Evo Cup that would involve 5,300 players from 14 states.
She said each state-level tournament would involve 32 clubs, with the best team competing in the finals in December next year in Kuala Lumpur.
“This initiative will enable the association to set up a database of netball players to ease administration matters.
“Through this initiative, we also hope to lay the groundwork for a semi-professional championship that will produce more outstanding players. We want to form a professional league team like in the football league.”
Malaysia’s national netball team is aiming to defend their title as champions in the 2018 Asian Netball Championships to enable them to qualify for the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool.
Suraya said the national team should at least qualify for the finals at the championships to be held in Singapore in September.
“I expect fierce competition from host Singapore as well as the Sri Lanka team. But I hope our team will be able to take on the challenges.”
– Bernama