Netball icon and Singapore's most capped player with 128 caps over 12 years Charmaine Soh announces International retirement
Singapore, 28 October 2023 – Singapore clinched the Mirxes Nations Cup title with a 59-56 victory against Papua New Guinea on the final day of the Mirxes Nations Cup 2023.
The game was a thrilling rematch of the tournament's first match, where Singapore suffered a narrow 50-52 defeat to Papua New Guinea.
The first 15 minutes of the game were fiercely contested, with both teams refusing to give an inch. However, midway through, Singapore made some errors, allowing Papua New Guinea to edge ahead and claim the first quarter with a two-goal lead (18-16).
The second quarter was dominated by Singapore, with the home team overpowering their rivals through solid defensive play from Jamie Lim, Aqilah Andin, and Khor Ting Fang, complemented by precise shooting from Amandeep Chahal and Toh Kai Wei. Singapore won the quarter 19-8, establishing a nine-goal lead.
Despite some errors creeping into Singapore's game during the third quarter, Papua New Guinea couldn't capitalise. Instead, Singapore's sustained defensive pressure enabled them to win the third quarter by three goals, further extending their lead (48-37).
The final quarter was tense for Singapore, as they experienced a higher turnover count and more missed shots than previous quarters. In the final quarter, Papua New Guinea mounted a strong comeback, winning 19-11. However, it wasn't enough, as Singapore secured the victory by three goals to capture the Mirxes Nations Cup 2023 title. Singapore's previous Nations Cup victory was in 2007, when they defeated Trinidad and Tobago 56-32 in the finals.
Amandeep Chahal, who recorded an impressive 88% shooting percentage, expressed her pride in the team's strong performance: “I'm very proud of our team for putting up a very strong fight from the beginning because we came here to prove a point. It's been very, very long since we've won the Nations Cup gold medal, and we're very proud that we actually managed to do it this year.”
Reflecting on her team’s performance against Papua New Guinea, Singapore national coach Annette Bishop expressed her pride in her team’s resilience, stating: “They were brilliant. They stuck together and stuck to the task. Papua New Guinea were coming at us, but we stood tall, and that was what we had to do; minimise our errors and then just grow our game.”
She further commented on the performance of the Singapore team throughout the week, saying: “We’ve seen the team grow even more, which is great.”
Charmaine Soh Announces Retirement from International Netball
After the game, Charmaine Soh, one of the icons of the sport and the national sports scene in Singapore, announced her retirement from international netball. Soh made her debut for Singapore against Jamaica at the Netball World Cup held in Singapore in 2011.
Over the years, Soh has been a key player in many successful Singapore national netball teams, including those that won Gold in the 2012 and 2014 Asian Netball Championships and the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. Soh, inducted into the Netball Hall of Fame in 2018, has competed in three Netball World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019), five Asian Netball Championships (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 & 2022), and three Southeast Asian Games (2015, 2017 & 2019). She also held leadership roles within the team, serving as co-vice-captain from 2015 to 2018 and national captain in 2019.
Watch SportPlus.sg's feature of Charmaine Soh in this special documentary video here
The 33-year-old, Singapore's most capped player with 128 caps over 12 years, tearfully shared: “It's been amazing from the start, from getting selected to the team and being the newbie, to now being the oldest in the team.’
‘I would like to thank my teammates and the coaches who have been with me throughout these years. I'm really thankful to them for shaping me into who I am today. And to the team, I would like to tell them to continue to work hard and ‘jia you’ to the young ones!”
In the other placing matches, Cook Islands secured 3rd place at the Mirxes Nations Cup after narrowly defeating Canada by a single goal in a highly intense final few minutes.
Both teams had a shaky start with misplaced passes and missed shots early in the game. The Cook Islands improved in the second half of the quarter to end with a three-goal lead. Over the next 15 minutes, Canada showed improvement, winning the subsequent quarter and bringing the game to a level pegging at halftime.
In the physical third quarter, the Cook Islands took control of the game, winning by eight goals (19-11). However, in the 4th quarter, Canada mounted a strong comeback, taking the quarter with a score of 13-4 to lead the game for the first time. With the score level at 48-all, Cook Islands' Wing Defence Rachel Tuaputa made a crucial intercept during Canada's centre pass, which Goal Shooter Maya Piakura converted, giving the Cook Islands a one-goal victory (49-48).
In the 5th and 6th placing game, Singapore A defeated Sri Lanka for the second time during the week to secure the 5th position.
Singapore A put on an impressive performance, much like they did throughout the week. Despite being Singapore's development team, featuring players mainly aged 23 and under, they achieved notable victories throughout the week against international teams such as Sri Lanka and Canada, and they narrowly lost to the Cook Islands.
Similar to their earlier game in the week, the Singapore A team came out strong in the first half of the match, taking an eight-goal lead after 30 minutes (30-22). The second half was a more closely contested affair, but Singapore A managed to secure a victory over Sri Lanka with a final score of 55-48, sealing the 5th position at the Mirxes Nations Cup.
Final Scores
Singapore A vs Sri Lanka: 55-48
Cook Islands vs Canada: 49-48
Papua New Guinea vs Singapore: 56-59
Final Standings
1st: Singapore
2nd: Papua New Guinea
3rd: Cook Islands
4th: Canada
5th: Singapore A
6th: Sri Lanka