Malawi Queens finish 7th, thank fans for support

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Netball World Cup Following their 56-51 win on Thursday, the Malawi team triumphed again against Tonga on Sunday to finish seventh at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town. Tonga managed to establish a three-goal lead midway through the first 15 minutes by creating open spaces to move the ball into their goal circle. Malawi launched a strong counterattack, with Joyce Mvula and Mwai Kumwenda making sure of their attempts at goal. The Queens caught up and even took a two-goal lead, leading 17-16 by the end of the first quarter. Malawi increased their pace and Mvula's movement out of the circle to collect passes led to more possession for Malawi. This allowed them to build a comfortable five-goal lead within eight minutes. Malawi's first substitution occurred just before halftime, with Jane Dambo replacing Grace Mwafulirwa on wing defence. This intensified pressure on Tonga's attack, and Malawi led 33-29 at halftime. The battle between centres Takondwa Lwazi and Hulita Veve continued in the third quarter. Both had been standout players for their teams throughout the tournament, excelling in both attack and defence. Tonga improved their structured play and defence in the third quarter, closing the gap to just one goal after seven minutes. They outscored Malawi 15-12 in the quarter, keeping their hopes of victory alive. Malawi's line-up remained unchanged going into the fourth quarter, as the coaching staff stuck with what was working well. In the final seven minutes, Malawi secured more ball possession for their shooting circle and pulled ahead. With two minutes remaining, their lead stretched to 10 goals, which they maintained to the final whistle, so securing seventh spot in the tournament. Malawi captain Jane Chimaliro said her side were satisfied with the victory. “We are feeling good, we are happy that we’ve finished seventh. We failed to get position five so we are not happy about that. The competition was very tough from day one and we tried our best. I thank the girls that they managed to control the last quarter… The fans in the stands were there for us.” Tongan goal defence Mo’onia Gerrard remained proud of her team’s performance at what is only their second Netball World Cup and said: “It was tough but I think we put it on ourselves to be honest. “This is our first campaign but we’ve had a taste of it during the championships, so I guess it’s character-building. I guess the girls now know they can’t just rely on their natural talent but they’ve got to put in extras at home to get to this point. “But considering where we came from – like absolutely nowhere – it was an absolute dream of mine for Tonga to even get to a championship, to a World Cup. It’s just a great feeling and a great start for what our little nation can do.”

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