A proud and happy North Harbour Sangam netball team (NHS) celebrated their Sangam World Cup (SWC) 2011 win at the Pearce St Community Hall in Onehunga, Auckland on January 14, 2012.
Among those present were close family, friends, Atin Patel of ECOLIFE Lighting (main sponsor) and members of the TISI Sangam organisation.
Our thanks are due to Coaches Vili and Kasey for their committment to the team which they did out of love for the girls and the sport.
The special awards of ‘Most Valuable Player’ went to Anita Kumar (Centre), ‘Most Improved Player’ to Sonam Kumar (Goal Keep), and ‘Players’ Player’ to Shamil Kumar (Goal Defence).
The team participated in the SWC in Sydney on November 26 and 27, 2011. After sailing through unbeaten in their pool games, quarter and semifinal, the team beat Waitakere Sangam 26-8 in the final to bring home the trophy and A$2500 in prize money.
They admit however having had to dig deep for the final against Waitakere Sangam, when left with only 30 minutes after the semifinal against Hamilton Sangam Ferns, beating them 22-8, to prepare for a 40-minute final in the scorching Sydney heat.
Added to that was the challenge of an injured player and no reserves.
The message from their coaches, Vilimaina Davu (ex Silver Fern and coach of the Fiji netball team) and Kasey Ng Chok was to treat it like any other game and simply do what they had been doing all along.
They did just that, getting better with each quarter. At full-time, they had no idea that they had beaten their opponents by such a large margin.
The girls were ecstatic, while their coaches were quietly pleased.
Kasey summed it up saying, “Everyone played their hearts out. It was not a case of the attacks or defence that won the game. It was a case of each player doing her job well to the very end.
“Our shooting combination Monica Choy and Jessica Sukhendra read each other well and between them rarely missed a shot at goal. On the defensive end, Shamil and Sonam Kumar got quality intercepts and put their opponents under immense pressure in the shooting circle.
“The midcouters, Anita Kumar, Jessica Naidu and Rachael Chandra swiftly moved the ball down the court and fed the shooters quality ball.”
For Vili, it was also about the big picture of promoting the sport amongst Indian women.
We hope to defend the title in 2013 when Auckland hosts the next Sangam World Cup.
The picture appearing in this report shows (from left) Monica Choy, Sudha Karan (TISI Sangam President), Shamil Kumar, Rachael Chandra. Sonam Kumar Jessica Sukhendra, Vilimaina Davu (Head Coach), Atin Patel (ECOLIFE), Moira Krishna and Anita Kumar. Assistant Coach Kasey Ng Chok is not in the picture.
Rachael Chandra is Secretary of North Harbour Sangam Netball Club and plays the position of Wing Attack in the team. She works as a full time litigation lawyer at an Auckland firm.
