Malawi Queens beat South Africa in World Cup opener
Malawi national netball team, the Queens on Friday triumphed over South Africa’s Spar Proteas in the world cup’s opener played at Allphones Arean in Sydney, Australia.
The Queens beat their continental rivals 58-51, the first win over them in a total of six games.
New Zealand-based star shooter Mwawi Kumwenda—back after a self-imposed exile—led the Queens to their victory.
Malawi is seeking to reclaim position five after dropping to sixth on the world ranking with South Africa going fifth.
Earlier, Queens coach, Peace Chawinga- Kaluwa, said the Queens’ victory over Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday was a morale booster as Africa’s second-positioned side attempts to restore its battered image.
The Queens finalised their preparations for the 2015 Netball World Cup by beating Trinidad and Tobago 60-49.
During the test match against Tobago, the Queens led 16-15 and 35-26 in the first and second quarters. The Queens extended the lead in the third quarter to 48-37.
In a brief WhatsApp message, Kaluwa said the team was confident ahead of the meeting with South Africa.
“We will play with our lungs out.
Of course, the friendly was close but we will assess the team,” she said.
Kaluwa said she rotated all the players to assess whether they would stick to the game-plan.
“We also kept on changing the combinations,” she said.
Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) General Secretary, Carol Bapu, said they were impressed with how the team started.
After the South Africa tie, Queens face Sri Lanka at the same venue tomorrow before meeting Singapore on Sunday.
Before departure, the Queens received K7 million from Airtel Malawi through the Airtel Money three-year project.
Meanwhile, MultiChoice Malawi has also announced that the games would also be broadcast live on GOtv.
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