The 7th Asian Netball Championship saw the Malaysian team beginning their campaign last Friday to an inspiring start with a 78-15 win over India. Clearly in fierce form from the whistle, Malaysia had managed to end the first half with 37 goals and maintain their form till the end of the game to give the hosts a perfect start. 

However, going up against three-time champions, Sri Lanka on Sunday proved to be too difficult a task for our ladies. The Sri Lankans used their height and pace to their advantage whilst the Malaysians failed to intercept well and wasted many throws. Without a doubt, it was the lanky Tharmini Sivalingam who made the game for the Sri Lankans as she towered over everybody on the court at a height of 2.06 metres leaving the hosts with a 52-72 loss. 
Coming from that loss, the Malaysian team managed to return with a more resounding win over Pakistan with a staggering score of 89-6 with Norashikin Kamal Zaman having the highest amount of goals at 38 nets of her own. This gave our team the encouragement they needed heading into their next game with Hong Kong to gain a comfortable win of 52-26 last Tuesday. With that result in, Malaysia has secured a place in the top two of the group granting them a place in the semi-finals with their next game against the defending champions, Singapore. 
The stakes are high for both teams, with neither team looking to exit at this stage. While the Malaysian team will be looking to redeem themselves from their loss with Singapore in the 2005 finals, Singapore looks ready to bring their top game this Friday in their efforts to defend their title for the second consecutive time.