South Africa’s Phumza Mweni up against Mary Cholhok of Uganda during the Netball World Cup. Picture: Ashley Vlotman, Gallo Images, Netball World Cup 2023
AN EMOTIONAL Phumza Maweni found it hard to hold back the tears after the Proteas’ defeat in their final match at the Netball World Cup.
Hosts South Africa played Uganda in an all-African showdown for fifth place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Sunday.
While the Proteas secured a two-goal victory over the ‘She-Cranes’ in their final group game just three days earlier, the Ugandans got the better of them once again in the fifth-place play-off almost a year ago to the day at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
🗣️ "I'm proud of myself, my family got a chance to come and watch me. This is my last World Cup."
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 6, 2023
An emotional Phumza Maweni, who was sensational for the #SPARProteas throughout #NWC2023, reflects on the tournament and finishing sixth 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/DsxtGwikgH
The defeat hit goalkeeper Maweni very hard. She says is battling to accept the loss.
“Hurt, we didn’t expect to finish sixth, but we will take it, it’s part of the game but it really hurts, we really wanted a fifth-place finish, so we will have to settle for finishing sixth. It just really hurts and it’s hard to describe how I feel now,” said Maweni, who was trying to hold back tears.
President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa is enjoying himself at the #NWC2023 final 👏
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 6, 2023
Australia lead England 20-19 in the middle of the second quarter.
📺 Stream live: https://t.co/ACEUH7ehZ3#HereForHer pic.twitter.com/BX0z0f3ic7
Maweni, who played in her final World Cup, couldn’t manage to stop the tears from flowing when asked about the impact of the fans.
“It’s my last World Cup, I didn’t expect to finish things (like this), but I am proud of myself,” she said.
“I am proud of the fans who cheered whether we won or lost. It was an electric atmosphere and it’s always an honour to play at home. It’s my home town and my family got to watch me and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.”