*Battle for gold lost because of over confidence
Sharpshooter Chairmaine Soh made all the difference as she single handedly won the 28th SEA Games netball gold medal for Singapore with a 46-43 victory in the final at the Arena Hall 1 on Sunday.
While Chairmaine was sinking basket after basket and the final tally read 38 goals from her alone, Malaysia’s goal shooter Norashikin Kamalzaman fumbled some easy shots that made the difference in a hotly contested final.
In winning the gold medal last won by Malaysia in 2001 when the sport was last played when Kuala Lumpur hosted the biennial games, exacted sweet revenge after both teams battled to a 35-35 stalemate in a preliminary round match.
Singapore won the first two quarters – winning the first 11-10 and the second 14-10 while the third ended in a 11-11 stalemate before Malaysia won the fourth quarter 12-10 but the win came too late as Singapore held off a late challenge from their rivals to clinch the gold.
Norashikin buckled under pressure and her nervousness saw the Malaysian fumble several chances although she topscored for Malaysia with 22 goals. An Najwa Azizan contributed 11 and Izyra Syazana Wazir 10 in Malaysia’s total.
Malaysia also showed erratic form in their passing which allowed Singapore to intercept and score freely many a time.
Malaysia’s coach Aminah Asaari said: “We may have lost the final but I am proud of my players for giving Singapore a good fight. We will be ready for the next SEA Games in 2017 and it will be a different story.”
