THE Baby Pearls’ historical fourth place finish at the recent youth world cup in Botswana has set a wonderful benchmark for the Fiji under-21 side at the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup to be held in Fiji.
This is according to Baby Pearls skipper Episake Kahatoka in an interview at the Nadi International Airport last night.
Kahatoka, who arrived with her teammates, could not control their emotions as tears of joy were shed after being greeted by family members and loved ones.
The tough defender and her troops achieved a rare feat being the first Fijian netball side to reach the semi-final of any world cup event. Emotional with their achievement, skipper Kahatoka said they were humbled with their effort.
“Our aim was to reach the top eight but the girls were overwhelmed to win our quarter-final,” she said.
“The girls were crying as we celebrated our quarter-final win knowing our hard work has paid off. The coach and the management team keep pushing us to be the best we can be on and off the court. It is a good standard for the next youth world cup to be staged in Fiji.”
She said they had proven that without proper training facilities the girls still managed to reach the top four.
Kahatoka said the pride of representing the nation inspired the wonder girls to create history.
“It doesn’t matter training without proper facilities like New Zealand but it is the pride of playing for our country motivated us to reach the semi-final.”
Assistant minister for Sports Iliesa Delana, who also greeted the netters, congratulated the team for their fine display.
