……Malawi 54-47 FIJI
By Edwin Mbewe
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi National Netball Team’s form on international level keeps on deteriorating as the Queens struggled to beat low ranked Fiji 54-47 in their opening match at Pacific Aus Sports netball series in Australia on Monday, April 24, 2023.
Peace Chawinga’ Queens looked exhausted, lacked pace compared to Fiji who came into the game so energetic with their goalshooter so accurate.
Malawi in the past used to beat Fiji with big margins, for instance in 2018, they defeated them 78-46 in Taini Jamison trophy.
It was a different case on Monday as Queens scored 54-47 with only a 7 goals difference against FIJI who are ranked 19th on the International Netball Federation (INF)world Ranking.
Malawi playing without their stars Mwai Kumwenda and Joyce struggled in many areas, as they narrowly led Fiji, 1st quarter 14-12, second quarter 27-20, 43-30, 54-47 in the 3rd and final quarters respectively.
Sport analyst Charles Nyirenda says the results is a worrisome for the team which is ranked 6th in the world, only to wrestle with nations who are not well established in netball.
“They have to up their game against tougher opponents, Fiji is a baby in netball and if we have wrestled with them this way. We might struggle when we come face to face with established heavyweights”.
“I think our netball team is facing a number of challenges at the moment. The preparations were some what poor because of resource constraints.To add to that, the side is being reconstructed and it is even said that key players won’t be available in Australia. So, we just hope for the best for them”, says Nyirenda.
The Queens will be up against Papua New Guinea on Tuesday in their second game of the tournament before facing Samoa on Wednesday who earlier defeated Papua New Guinea 66-48.
In other games in first round, saw Zambia defeating Kenya 49-45, Tonga demolished Singapore 85-40.
The Queens must avoid a defeat from the low ranked nations if they are to safeguard the 6th position in the world.
The Pacific Aus Sports netball series tournament is being used as preparations for the 2023 Cape Town Netball World Cup and FAST5 Netball World Series slated for Christchurch, New Zealand from 11-12th November 2023.
