The experience of the 2019 Netball World Cup will have a major bearing on the Spar Proteas when they host this year’s iteration in Cape Town, according to Khanyisa Chawane.
Johannesburg – The experience of the 2019 Netball World Cup will have a major bearing on the Spar Proteas when they host this year’s iteration in Cape Town, according to Khanyisa Chawane.
Four years ago, the Proteas made it all the way to the semi-finals of the showpiece event, where they lost 55-53 to Australia.
They subsequently lost to England in the bronze medal match, and it will be that exposure to the coalface of knockout netball that will help the Proteas make even more improvements this time around.
For that is the objective of the team, the 27-year-old admitted in an exclusive interview with Independent Media this week – to have a medal hanging around their necks.
Said Chawane: “Having played a semi-final at the previous World Cup, you know that the team has the capability to do better and that is what is exciting for me – taking that experience from the 2019 World Cup and coming into 2023 knowing that we want to do better than what we did.
“We came fourth in the 2019 World Cup. Wanting to do better in this World Cup is a podium finish.”
🛬 The eagle has landed!
Today, on Africa Day, the Netball World Cup arrived in South Africa ahead of a 6-week ‘trophy tour’ of the country🏆
More information on the tour👇https://t.co/fAfnSQ4cke#RoadToCapeTown | #PutYourHandsUp pic.twitter.com/mLMugyUyUJ
— Netball World Cup (@NetballWorldCup) May 25, 2023
The bulk of the 15-woman squad selected by head coach Norma Plummer crucially has some form of tournament experience – be that from either the World Cup or Commonwealth Games, or both.
Chawane is no exception. It will be the wing-defence’s second major tournament and she too goes into the quadrennial event with more confidence and self-belief.
“My first World Cup,” she explained, “yes, there were jitters because I didn’t know how to feel.
“Having been there and knowing that we are going again, I’m very happy.
“Going to my second World Cup and experiencing such vibrant, world class netball, and actually being there and participating in it makes me very, very happy,” she reiterated.
The World Cup trophy landed in South Africa yesterday and began its tour of the nation in KwaZulu-Natal.
It will arrive in Cape Town after it has snaked its way north, east and west within our borders, to take its place on its pedestal in early July.
With the trophy touching down on our shores, the tournament has taken on a tangible reality that was perhaps missing before.
It will only add to the excitement that Chawane and her teammates are already feeling.
“We have been talking about the World Cup, but now that it is finally here and we have made the cut to actually represent the country, it gives goosebumps. It is an exciting moment,” she concluded with a smile.
@FreemanZAR
