Netball: Singapore captain Jean Ng is first local player to attain 100 caps

 
Fiji, Saturday, July 7, 2012 — Singapore’s national netball captain Jean Ng has become the first Singaporean netball player to reach a century of caps when she made her 100th appearance for Singapore in a test series match against Fiji.

The National Open Team is currently in Fiji for a training tour in preparation for the Asian Netball Championships which will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from August 25th to 31st.

“Reaching 100 international caps is certainly a huge milestone in my netball career,” said Ng. “However, this achievement does not adequately describe the wonderful journey and the rich experience I had with the team that have greatly enriched my life: the bonds of friendships, honour of flying proud the Singapore flag, sense of pride whenever the National Anthem is played, highs and lows of competitive sport and the privilege of playing with, against and alongside the best in the world.

“I owe a lot to my coaches, team mates, administrators, medical support team, who have helped me along the way,” said Ng.

Netball Singapore’s newly elected President Jessica Tan is delighted with Ng’s achievement.

“We are very proud of Jean and would like to congratulate her for being the first Singaporean to attain 100 international netball caps. It is a huge accomplishment and we applaud her efforts in achieving this milestone. Her passion for the sport is tremendous and Jean is a role model for all the younger players on and off court,” said Tan.

Ng picked up the sport in primary school when she was 10 years old and made her first appearance for Singapore at the 1999 World Netball Championships 11 years later. In the 13 years that she has played for Singapore, Ng won three gold medals — one from winning the Asian Championships in 2005, and two from winning the 2006 and 2007 Nations Cup.

Although still hungry for the sport, the Asian Netball Championships could be Ng’s swansong as she ponders retirement from international netball this year.

“This might be the last year that I play for the National Team. I have actually been thinking about stopping for the last two years and even after the 2007 World Championships. It is never an easy decision,” Ng said.

“I still enjoy the sport a lot and the discipline it brings. I love being with the team and also the on-court chemistry borne of years of playing together and relish opportunity to mentor and guide the younger players in the team. The players and the team all have so much talent so I can leave with the knowledge that there are strong players ready to fill my shoes.”

“I’ll go for as long as I can but for now, I’m taking one tournament at a time. The Asian Championships is the next one, so I’ll see how I feel after that and see if I should go on, or stop. I still enjoy the game and will continue to play at the club level for as long as I can,” Ng continued.

Singapore finished runners-up to Sri Lanka in the last Asian Championships, losing 48-77 to them in the final. Singapore reversed the result in the 2011 Nations Cup with a 73-36 win and will hope to repeat their feat in Sri Lanka next month.