Netball national coach Tracey Robinson believes the team are on the right track to win the gold medal in the 29th SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.
According to Tracey, the Malaysians are ready to give the 2015 SEA Games gold medallists Singapore the run for the money as they prepare to regain the crown won in 2001.
“We’ve got a few players from the last SEA Games team and we’ve talked extensively about how that felt and the disappointment around that.
“They’re all very determined to take home the gold and they are ecstatic to be at home with the crowd and support.
“We’re along the path where we need to be and no doubt it’s going to be really hard as Singapore are reigning champions.
“They will be difficult to go against but I’ve got confidence on my players as they are well-prepared, strong and fit
“I just think they are in a really good place to really give it a good go to win the gold medal,” said Tracey.
The Australian, who has been in charge – on and off – since 2016, has produced remarkable results as she guided the Malaysians to the 2016 Asian Netball Championships crown in Thailand.
The last Asian Championship title won by Malaysia was in 1985 hosted in Kuala Lumpur.
“I’ve been coaching on and off for the last two years. Last year, I was coming over two weeks every month from January to August. I’ve worked with them and won the Asian Championship which is the first time in 31 years.
“They wanted me to commit full-time but I have my commitments back at home.
“The Malaysian Netball Association (MNA) recalled for my services and since February I’ve been here two weeks a month except for the last six weeks I’ve been staying here and I will be with the team until the Games end.
“The team worked really hard and we have a lot of support from the National Sports Council (MSN) in terms of strength conditioning which is really for the girls.
“There’s no doubt about it, it’s been a big improvement since the Asian Championship last year. It was not only good for their confidence but also for Malaysia as it is really important to have young players come through and see some success at the top,” explained Tracey.
In preparations to the KL2017 Games, the Australian had been training the national team in Melbourbe with a few sparring matches to gage where they stand.
“We have an extensive programme where we’ve travelled to Australia and played games with various teams just to give us that hard matchplay as Australia are ranked world No.1.
“So to play the Australians are out of our league but there are lots of teams for us to see where we stand.
“We’ve played quality netball in our last trip to Melbourne winning four of five games so I’m happy with the team’s performance.
“The Pre SEA Games event is a good indicator but we’ve still got a lot to work do as all coaches say. We’re going to make sure that they are mentally and physically right for them to nail down the things we need to get across the line,” said Tracey.
The Malaysians are having a fine run at the four-team Malaysia Netball Invitational Championships (22-25 July) as they cruise into the final with three straight wins – Thailand (65-36), Malaysia Junior (64-36) and Chinese Taipei (114-12) – at the Juara Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
Thailand – who have collected two wins in the round-robin tournament – have set a date with Malaysia in the final at 3pm tomorrow (25 July). – BY ALVIN OH
