Selangor Angels defender Nur Firra Syuhada in action against Melaka Mystic in the Netball Super League match.
PETALING JAYA: National player Nur Firra Syuhada has to put off her dream of competing in the SEA Games again.
Vietnam did not include netball in their SEA Games programme in Hanoi and the hosts of the next edition Cambodia have also dropped the sport from their list in 2023. Malaysia were the champions at the 2019 edition in the Philippines.
The 22-year-old defender said it was unfortunate that netball was not very popular in some of the SEA countries.
“I was not too disappointed as I was somehow prepared for it,” she said.
“Netball is not a big sport in all the countries. We can basically predict that based on the country’s interest. If the country has a national team, they will host it and vice versa.”
Firra hopes the 2025 hosts Thailand will reinstate netball. If not, she knows for sure Malaysia will include it when they organise it in 2027.
Her first international assignment is the Asian Championships in Singapore from Sept 4-11.
“If we reach the final, we will qualify for the World Cup, that’s the goal.”
The World Cup will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from July 28-Aug 6 next year.
Yesterday, Firra played her part to help Selangor Angels beat Melaka Mystic 61-39 in the ongoing Netball Super League (NSL) at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara.
They are currently in third position in the league behind leaders KL Wildcats and Johor Jewels.
“We’ve shown improvement compared to last year, in terms of attacking and feeding the ball to our shooters,” she said.
They managed to convert 67% of 92 attempted goals yesterday.
RESULTS
Selangor Angels bt Perak Phoenix 51-42; Pahang Tulips bt Negri Sembilan Venom 50-46; Selangor Angels bt Melaka Mystic 61-39; Pahang Tulips bt Kedah Sunshine 71-54.
