Photo credit: Takumi Photography
Hong Kong’s netballers make their long-awaited return to international duty, as the 7th edition of the Four Nations Netball Tournament returns to the Kowloon Park Sports Ground on Thursday evening.
Last year’s edition of the event offered Robin Manihera’s charges a wealth of match experience, with Grenada, Ireland and regional rivals Singapore serving up different kinds of attacking threat.
In their place, Hong Kong will welcome Malaysia and Thailand, both of whom are no strangers to the competition; the former in particular are on the hunt for a third Four Nations crown, which will add to back-to-back triumphs in 2013 and 2014.
On the other hand, Thailand took part in the inaugural Four Nations back in 2012 where they emerged second, returning on two occasions in 2013 and 2015.
Debutants Gibraltar, who embarked on a lengthy commute after a London layover, complete the list of teams vying for supremacy.
Thursday kicks off affairs with pool games pitting Gibraltar against Malaysia and Hong Kong against Thailand, while the opening ceremony will be hosted on Friday where Thailand play Malaysia and Hong Kong encounter Gibraltar.
Saturday will see Gibraltar face off against Thailand and a tantalising Hong Kong-Malaysia clash ensue.
All the action come to a head on Sunday, with the Finals results poised to tip the balance in terms of INF World Rankings.
Hong Kong’s world ranking places them in good stead, which co-captain Kate Jolly attributes to a wider quality firmly ingrained within the team.
“We’re not going to reveal too much about our weaknesses, but I’d say one of our strengths is our team culture and team spirit and anyone who’s come up against us will acknowledge that.” she remarked.
Her fellow co-captain Michelle Arkell was equally confident about Hong Kong’s chances.
“We’ve played against Thailand and Malaysia before, though we’ve yet to play against Gibraltar,” said Arkell.
“But our aim this tournament is to play our game and force other teams to play our way, rather than look at what they can do.”
The Four Nations Netball Tournament will take place between March 1-3 at the Kowloon Park Sports Centre, with free admission to the public. Visit this link for full tournament schedule.
More Chaos is the proud media sponsor of the 2019 Four Nations Tournament.