Malawi Queens’ shooters looking sharp
Malawi National Netball Team Head Coach, Sam Kanyenda, is happy that the Queens’ shooters are coping with the Fast5 playing format in the ongoing camp.
The Queens are training at Blantyre Youth Centre in preparation for the Fast5 World Netball Series scheduled for Hisense Arena, Melbourne, in Australia from October 28 to 29.
Kanyenda said it was pleasing that the tournament in Australia is coming just a month after the GOtv Netball Champions League, which also used the Fast5 format.
“This tournament has helped our shooters to sharpen their skills. In a tournament that uses the Fast5 format, you need your shooters to master skills in shooting from afar. Several of our shooters are now good at that,” Kanyenda said.
The coach said, with players such as Jane Chimaliro and Joyce Mvula mastering long-range shooting, the Queens will minimise their over-reliance on match-winner Mwawi Kumwenda.
Kanyenda said Mwawi was the only shooter capable of scoring from afar during last year’s tournament.
“The more long-range points you score, the better your chances of winning a match. We could have done much better last year if we had other long-range shooters like Mwawi,” he said.
The team’s Captain, Caroline Ngwira, said she was confident that the Queens can do better than last year’s third-place finish ahead of reputable sides such as England, Jamaica and South Africa.
“You may recall that we lost to Australia by just a single point. We are a team that is capable of doing better. Yes, we know that our opponents are also fully prepared to stop us, but we have defied the odds before,” Ngwira said.
The Queens have largely been dormant, with last June’s African Netball Championship in Uganda being the only tournament they have competed in.
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