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No added pressure on Sunshine Girls – Fowler

Published:Thursday | July 11, 2019 | 12:00 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
England’s goal keeper Ama Agbeze (left) tries her best to intercept a pass to Jamaica’s Jhaniele Fowler (centre) while goal defence Layla Guscoth looks on during the third and final Lasco Sunshine Series game between Jamaica and England at the National Indoor Sports Centre on October 15, 2018.

LIVERPOOL, England:

Despite moving up one spot to second place in the latest International Netball Federation world rankings, Jamaica’s senior netball team captain Jhaniele Fowler has outlined that there is no added pressure on the team to deliver a medal at this month’s Netball World Cup (NWC).

The Sunshine Girls, who have not won a medal at the championships since 2007, will enter the championships oozing in confidence after securing a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, last April.

They also went on to to hammer Commonwealth Games champions England 3-0 in a home series without their experienced goal shooter Romelda Aiken last September.

However, Fowler, who will be making her third appearance at the championships for the Jamaicans, said that despite the massive expectations that have been placed on the team’s shoulders to win a medal, they are just taking it one step at a time.

“I am feeling really pleased with how that team has been progressing. The girls are excited and they are looking forward to the championship,” said Fowler.

“To be honest, there is no pressure at all because what we are doing is what we know how to do,” she said. “We are not watching what everybody else is talking about around us and so we are making sure that we maintain our calm and remain humble because we are proud of ourselves for reaching where we are now,” Fowler said.

“I know that it is going to be a lot work. It is not going to be easy, but I know that we have the capability to come out on the podium and so it is just to work towards that,” Fowler outlines.

The lanky goal shooter noted that they have had a good build-up to the tournament, which has helped to prepare the girls to deal with the rigours of the competition.

“One of the major things is to be mentally fit, and we are mentally tough at the moment, and so we know what we have to look forward to,” said Fowler.

“We are putting in the work in training to see how much we can simulate in games and how much we can hold it together as a team. We also have the management team around us to help to come and to be ready for each game,” she said.