Netting The Gold Medal At Netball Championship

BUKIT Jalil Sports School (BJSS) is well prepared to defend its gold medal in the Singapore Sports School invitational netball championship starting tomorrow.

BJSS showed its supremacy when it won the BJSS invitational netball championship held at the Olympic Hall in BJSS recently.

In the five-team championship, BJSS defeated South Africa’s Marais Viljoen High School 66-23 in the final. Singapore Sports School finished third after a slim 49-44 win over Sri Lanka’s Kalutara Balika Vidisaya.

 

We are the champs: The BJSS players and coach Choo Kon Lee (left) with their prizes.

The fifth team was Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) represented by Form One and Form Two students.

Players from BJSS also won three of the four individual awards. International Norashikin Kamal Zaman was named the Best Shooter; Nursyafazliyana Mohd Ali as the Best Defender while Nuru Adha Abu Bakar won the Best Player award. Marais Viljoen High School’s Kylie Jardine was voted as the Best Attacker.
BJSS coach Choo Kon Lee said they were pleased to win the title.

Got it: Nurashikin Kamal Zaman (centre) getting the ball despite being pressured.

“The championship was part of our preparations for the championship in Singapore. Looking at the players’ impressive performance, we are on the right track to defend the gold medal in Singapore,’’ said Choo.
The BJSS invitational netball championship was part of the programme as a Cluster School. The championship also served as an opportunity for Choo to evaluate the players.

“We did not have the Form Five players as they were involved in the SPM examination. The players were from Form Three and Form Four. In fact all the players have shown progress but the big test will come in Singapore,’’ said Choo.

Last year, BJSS became the champions in Singapore after defeating Newcastle from Australia. There were six teams in the fray. However this year, the championship has attracted 10 teams, including outfits from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Choo said the championship would be an exciting affair and it would be a big challenge to them. They have a reliable player in Norashikin. The towering Norashikin has an impressive scoring rate and had represented Malaysia in the World Junior championship and Asian championship.

“Norashikin scoring rate is about 90% and that makes her a consistent player. But we have other players who are equally capable of getting the points,’’ said Choo.

RESULTS
 BJSS bt Marais Viljoen High School, South Africa 66-23
Final:

Third: Singapore Sport School bt Kalutara Balika Vidiyasaya, Sri Lanka 49-44

Best Defender: Nursyafazliyana Mohd Ali (BJSS)

Best Attacker: Kylie Jardine (Marais Viljoen High School)

Best Shooter: Norashikin Kamal Zaman (BJSS)

Best Player: Nurul Adha Abu Bakar (BJSS)

Big Break For Netball Squad

THE Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) netball squad will get the chance to pit their skills against foreign teams during an invitational championship in November.

The BJSS netball coach, Choo Kon Lee, said they had invited seven foreign teams - Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and China - for the championship.

“We will have an eight-team competition. The aim is to provide a platform for our players to gauge their progress. Training alone is not enough. They must play in competitive matches. The invitational competition will benefit the players,’’ said Choo.

Despite the Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak, there has been no slowdown in the squad’s training programme.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h: The players warming up before training.

Except for five players - Norashikin Kamal Zaman, Nor Amirah Dayana Noor Azhar, Nurul Adha Abu Bakar, Nur Syafazliyana Mohd Ali and Izyan Shafiqah Mohd Wazir - who are with the National Junior squad taking part in the World Youth netball championship in the Cook’s Island, the team is training twice a day.

It is a hectic schedule as the two-hour morning session is at 6.30am while the evening sessions are at 4.30pm. The players, preparing for the PMR and SPM, are granted permission to attend their classes early.

Choo said they would like the players to excel in the examinations as well.

Let me catch the ball: The players going through a drill.

“The players must get good results as we want to see them earn places in the Matriculation programme. It will provide them ample opportunities to pursue higher education,’’ said Choo.

She was also happy with the team’s results in the recent USM netball carnival. Two teams represented the BJSS in the carnival.

The Under-15 team took part in the age group while the Under-18 team saw action in the Open category. The Under-15 team became the champions but the Under-18 team only made it to the quarter-finals.

Choo said they were happy with the results as the Under-18 team was playing against established teams.

“For the Under-18 team, it was an opportunity to pit their skills against the seniors. Considering the handicap, we are pleased with the team’s performance,’’ said Choo.

Players from BJSS have shown tremendous progress. Three players - Norashikin, Nurul Adha and Nur Syafazliyana- played for Malaysia in the Asian championship in Kuala Lumpur in July.

Malaysia finished third behind Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Choo said the players had a bright chance of playing an important role in the National team.

“We will continue with our training programme and our vision is simple - to groom players for the national squad,’’ said Choo.

Big Break For Netball Squad

THE Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) netball squad will get the chance to pit their skills against foreign teams during an invitational championship in November.

The BJSS netball coach, Choo Kon Lee, said they had invited seven foreign teams - Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and China - for the championship.

“We will have an eight-team competition. The aim is to provide a platform for our players to gauge their progress. Training alone is not enough. They must play in competitive matches. The invitational competition will benefit the players,’’ said Choo.

Despite the Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak, there has been no slowdown in the squad’s training programme.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h: The players warming up before training.

Except for five players - Norashikin Kamal Zaman, Nor Amirah Dayana Noor Azhar, Nurul Adha Abu Bakar, Nur Syafazliyana Mohd Ali and Izyan Shafiqah Mohd Wazir - who are with the National Junior squad taking part in the World Youth netball championship in the Cook’s Island, the team is training twice a day.

It is a hectic schedule as the two-hour morning session is at 6.30am while the evening sessions are at 4.30pm. The players, preparing for the PMR and SPM, are granted permission to attend their classes early.

Choo said they would like the players to excel in the examinations as well.

Let me catch the ball: The players going through a drill.

“The players must get good results as we want to see them earn places in the Matriculation programme. It will provide them ample opportunities to pursue higher education,’’ said Choo.

She was also happy with the team’s results in the recent USM netball carnival. Two teams represented the BJSS in the carnival.

The Under-15 team took part in the age group while the Under-18 team saw action in the Open category. The Under-15 team became the champions but the Under-18 team only made it to the quarter-finals.

Choo said they were happy with the results as the Under-18 team was playing against established teams.

“For the Under-18 team, it was an opportunity to pit their skills against the seniors. Considering the handicap, we are pleased with the team’s performance,’’ said Choo.

Players from BJSS have shown tremendous progress. Three players - Norashikin, Nurul Adha and Nur Syafazliyana- played for Malaysia in the Asian championship in Kuala Lumpur in July.

Malaysia finished third behind Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Choo said the players had a bright chance of playing an important role in the National team.

“We will continue with our training programme and our vision is simple - to groom players for the national squad,’’ said Choo.

Netball Nations Championship 2009

BJSS Netball Squad Gets Bigger

The Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) netball squad has been beefed up with seven rookies recently.

They are Nur Inani Rosli, Nur Adrinah Adnan, Nurfatin Kamila Zainal Abidin, Alia Najwa Shahirah Sharifuddin, Nur Bahiyah Mohd Farik and Yeoh Pek Xian.

Except for Yeoh and Nur, who are Form One students, the other five are all in Form Two.

New faces: The seven new recruits in the BJSS netball squad.

BJSS netball coach Choo Kon Lee said the seven players were selected based on their performance in age group competitions last year.

The competitions were the Milo-Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) championships and the National Youth and National Open championships.

“Firstly, we looked at the players’ physique and their basic skills. Some of them may not have the skills but have the physique and we take them in to coach them. If they can adapt to the training programme, we are confident they can be groomed into accomplished players.

“They should have the right attitude and be prepared to go through the mill to master the tactics and techniques involved in netball,’’ said Choo.

Easy peasy: A player balancing a ball on her head, probably just for the fun of it.

With the new recruits, the BJSS netball squad has 23 players — four in Form Five, five in Form Four and seven in Form Three.

The squad trains six days a week. In the mornings, the focus is on fitness and endurance. The players also attend workouts in the gym twice a week. In the afternoons, it is on the courts for the players.

Choo said they had drawn up their training programme for the year and the players would have ample opportunities to gain exposure in local and international competitions.

The players will return to their respective states for the MSSM, National Youth and Malaysian Open championships.

The BJSS are also scheduled to play in a competition in Australia in July.

Last year, the BJSS went for a competition in Singapore involving the sports schools from the republic, New Zealand and Australia.

Two players — Norashikin Kamal Zaman and Izyan Syazana Mohd Wasir — were in the Malaysian gold medal winning team in the Asian Youth championships in Hong Kong.

Besides Norashikin and Izyan Syazana, five players from the BJSS have been selected to attend the national squad’s first phase training programme. The national squad is preparing for the World Under-21 championships in the Cook Islands.

You can do it, girls: Coach Choo (left) giving a pep talk to the players before a training session.

The five are Nur Sharmila Md Samsudin, Nurul Husna Akbal Amad, Nurul Adha Abu Bakar, Nur Syafazliyana Mohd Ali and Noramirah Dayana Noor Azhar.

Choo said some of the players had bright chances of making it to the national squad.

“Our mission is to groom them for the national junior and senior squads,’’ added Choo.

The players:

Fatin Athirah Md Yusof, Nur Shamillia Md Samsudin, Nurul Husna Akbal Amad, Nur Shafiqah Mohd Zahurin, Izyan Shafiqah Mohd Wazir, Yang Farha Farhana Fadzarahman, Burul Adha Abu Bakar, Nur Syafazliyana Mohd Ali, S. Sathiesswari, Nur Syazwani Ibzan Ibrahim, Nur Sahira Muhd Khir, Norashikin Kamal Zaman, Noramirah Dayana Noor Azhar, Nur Athirah Amizan, S. Shandraleka, Norfarahana Nawi, Nur Inani Rosli, Nur Adrinah Adnan, Nurfatin Kamila Zainal Abidin, Alia Najwa Shahirah Sharifuddin, Nur Bahiyah Mohd Farik, Yeoh Pek Xian.