Sunshine Girls look to deliver gold medal on Independence Day
Published:Saturday | July 15, 2023 | 12:08 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
JAMAICA’S Sunshine Girls, ranked fourth in the world behind the trio of Australia, New Zealand and England, departed the island yesterday as they embarked upon their 15th trip to the Netball World Cup, with the 2023 edition being hosted on Africa soil for the first time. The 2023 World Cup will be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa from July 28 to August 6.
Shawn Murdock, newly appointed assistant coach of the Sunshine Girls, stated that he’s cognisant of the fact that the Sunshine Girls last won a medal at the showpiece event some 16 years ago, but has confidence in his charges. He said that he’s also aware of the threat posed by other top-ranked countries who are heading into the tournament.
“We’ve not won a medal at the World Cup in the last 16 years, but we’re very confident. While we are confident, we know that the likes of Australia and New Zealand, who are one and two in the world, and, of course other countries, such as England and South Africa, are where they are for a reason. We’re confident, but I’m sure they are also confident,” he stated.
The Sunshine Girls’ best showing at the Netball World Cup is finishing third which they’ve achieved on three occasions in 1991, 2003 and 2007. The last tournament, in 2019, which was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic saw the Sunshine Girls finishing in fifth place.
Assistant coach Murdock further stated that there’s still work left to be done before the tournament tips off and based on the team’s showing at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England where they finished with the silver medal, he believes that, that confidence level still lingers within the camp.
“We’re going to fine tune what we’ve been doing and come together to hopefully put on court the gold medal performance. We had some success last year at the Commonwealth Games, so of course we’re still riding on that confidence,” he reiterated.
The Sunshine Girls who are drawn in Pool C alongside host nation South Africa, Wales and Sri Lanka will play their first fixture on opening day (July 28) against number-15 ranked Sri Lanka. Murdock’s one big wish is to deliver the title on the same day as Jamaica celebrates its 61st year of Independence.
“We’re hoping that when the time comes, we are going to be the ones that will stand tall and execute the things we would have learnt and practice, and we’re hoping to deliver that gold medal on Independence Day for Jamaica,” Murdock said.