There was a time almost two decades ago when Malawi Queens were a formidable force on the global netball stage with their style of fast, short passes and unique footworks.
National netball team players of that time such as Linda Magombo-Munthali, Peace Chawinga-Kaluwa and Eleanor Mapulanga mastered the style to dazzle fans, frustrate opponents and create numerous scoring opportunities.
Of course, with age taking toll on their fitness levels, they are not the same anymore but the Queens Legends’ extraordinary performance against FDH Queens in yesterday’s exhibition match to mark the inaugural FDH Premier Netball League launch dubbed Qwachema at Blantyre Sports Arena proved they still have the signature moves for the new generation of players to learn from.
No wonder netball lovers were kept on the edges of their seats throughout yesterday’s match that saw them securing a deserved 18-11 victory.
It was a marvel to see Chawinga-Kaluwa making her trade-mark blind passes as goal-attacker, Sylvia Mtetemera engineering the centre and Magombo scoring at will as Annie Kapatuka-Sanga and Mapulanga controlled the defence.
Other legends such as Annie Mopiha, Esther Nkhoma, Judith Chalusa, Dziwanji Mtunduwatha, Jean Matola, Ruth Kaipa and Joana Kachilika were also on show.
Sadly, that unique unorthodox style hardly exists in the country’s current netball set-up as the Malawi Queens have, over the years, been slowly, but surely dropping on World Netball Rankings from fifth in the world in 2012 to seventh this year.
But Chawinga-Kaluwa, who is Malawi Queens co-coach and Tigresses’ mentor, believes the FDH Premier Netball League, being the first ever national netball league in the country, could be the right platform for
A Tigresses player tries to block a Civonets Malawi netball to revitalise the style.
“The new generation of players have a lot to learn from the legends and I believe the coming in of the national league is ideal for this purpose,” said Chawinga-Kaluwa.
Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) president Vitumbiko Gubuduza agreed with Chawinga- Kaluwa that there is need to rejuvenate Malawi’s unorthodox style.
She said the national league, which will have 264 games, will be played weekly until the season concludes in January.
FDH Bank senior marketing manager Ronald Chimchere said they are happy to have set the pace with sponsorship of the inaugural national netball league, bankrolled to the tune of K300 million annually for four years.
“We are happy to be part of netball transformation through the inaugural national league. We hope that this will be the best platform for player selection into the national team,” he said.
During the launch, Lilongwe-based Vanessa Sisters and Civo Nets plucked their first maximum points against Blantyre-based outfits.
Vanessa eased their way to 42-31 victory over Blantyre Pacers while Civo Nets endured a tight battle to beat Tigresses 42-36.
In the first game, Vanessa hardly struggled to outsmart Pacers as they led 12-9 in the first quarter before extending the tally to 23-16 by half-time break. The scores showed 35-26 in the third stanza before Vanessa won by 11 baskets.
In the second match, which was probably the most interesting on the day, Civo Nets and Tigresses engaged in a tight battle that saw them tying 10-all in the first quarter.
Tigresses narrowly led 19-18 in the second segment before both sides stood at 28-28 in the third quarter. However, Civo Nets’ last quarter surge forced the pendulum to sway in their favour, registering a six-basket win.
