Nations Cup Netball Tournament:

Sri Lanka confront Papua New Guinea

By Prince Gunasekara reporting from Singapore

Sri Lanka will battle it out against formidable Papua New Guinea in the second match of the Nations Cup Netball Tournament, which starts in Toa Payoh Sports Hall, here in Singapore at 3pm today (Sunday).

Sri Lanka is representing for the sixth time in the eighth edition of the world tournament, which six teams are taking part this year including United States of America, Singapore, Uganda, Republic of Ireland.

Previously, Sri Lanka had reached the semi-finals but this year, the Lankans will be vying to advance to the final in the week-long championship.

The captains took time out from their final preparations today to take to the skies at iFly Singapore for a special pre-event experience, lifting their sport to new heights. It is set to be the toughest contest yet as the competition includes a nation from each continent for the very first time.

Annette Payne (USA Captain), Mareesha Fernando (Sri Lanka Captain), Niamh Murphy (Republic of Ireland) and Nurul Baizura (Singapore Co-Vice Captain) were led through their training and flight time in the wind tunnel by certified iFly instructor Andy Noor Anbika.

'Anyone can fly' is tagline for iFly and that proved to be the case as only Murphy has experienced sky diving before. "That was exciting, at first I was nervous but as I relaxed and let go, it was really fun," said Payne.

Murphy gushed, "That was brilliant! The instructor was brilliant; I was spinning around and really felt like I was flying again."

Singapore Co-Vice Captain Baizura is eager to do it again, "That was a fantastic experience, I will definitely come back for more with family and friends."

Fernando added, "I was really nervous but that was great!"

Turning their attention to the netball court and the challenge they all face this coming week, Payne, playing for the highest ranked team in the competition added, "There is certainly a lot of work to do next week - individually and as a team - but we are ready."

Murphy, who is playing in her second Nations Cup, said, "The teams have all been working really hard for this tournament and this is a great chance for us to prove how much we have improved over the last year."

Baizura has the home support to steer them through what will be a tough week with such a variety of games given the varying style of play of the opposition. She said, "We are really looking forward to it. The team has been building up really well; we are in tune and prepped. We are ready to go."

It is the third appearance for Fernando and Sri Lanka's fifth in this competition so she knows what to expect adding, "I have a good team, we are really committed and I think we will do well this week."

Somitha Alwis, the Lankan coach, expects to field the experienced players against top ranked Papua New Guinea while replacing new players when the match is progressing. She said it is good to have the strongest side in the curtain raiser to assess her team's skills.

"It's a huge advantage for us to confront against top ranked Papua New Guina in the series opener as we can assess out team's performance, which will be more helpful us to plan throughout the tournament," said the De Alwis.

Match schedule: December 1: Sri Lanka vs Papua New Guinea, December 2: Sri Lanka vs United States of America, December 3: Sri Lanka vs Singapore, December 4: Sri Lanka vs Republic of Ireland, December 5: Rest day, December 6: Sri Lanka vs Uganda, December 7: Semi finals and final.