Malawi Queens in tough Commonwealth draw
Malawi Queens should brace for a rough ride in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
During its congress held last week, the International Netball Federation (INF) conducted a draw and put the Queens in Pool A comprising hosts Scotland, champions New Zealand, Jamaica, Northern Ireland and Saint Lucia.
According to www.netball.org and www.glasgow2014.com, the games will throw off from July 23 to August 3 2014.
Malawi coach Griffin Saenda yesterday said he expects tougher opposition even from the minnows Saint Lucia.
“All our pool opponents are very good considering that every team is improving. We have to train hard. We have to work extra hard and improve from position five,” said the veteran mentor.
In Pool B, reigning Africa kings South Africa’s Proteas were drawn alongside world number two Australia, third-ranked England, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Wales.
Queens captain Caroline Mtukule-Ngwira yesterday said South Africa were in a relatively tougher group “but what is critical is for us to have access to better training facilities and build our physique as Jamaica are very physical.”
“I think South Africa are in tougher group. Playing England and Australia is not easy. For us, save for Jamaica, the rest cannot beat us, unless we are complacent,” Ngwira said.
Barbados coach Ama Shepperd has since told her country’s Nation newspaper online edition www.nationnews.com that she is perplexed by the make-up of the two groups.
“It is a very tough draw when you look at both pools. I don’t think they are evenly balanced. I would really like to know how they arrived at it. It’s baffling. I don’t see how both Saint Lucia and Scotland could be in the same zone, along with Northern Ireland,” she is quoted as saying.
Malawi is ranked fifth among Commonwealth netball playing nations and fifth on the continental level, trailed in that order on sixth and second by South Africa. Northern Ireland and Saint Lucia are rated 11th and 13th respectively whereas Scotland are placed seventh.
Meanwhile, INF has taken a strategic decision to make the rules of netball freely available online on www.netball.org.
