Malawi national netball team Coach, Whyte Mulilima, has thrown his full weight behind veteran players despite the Queens’ disappointing showing at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
The Queens returned home on Tuesday through Chileka Airport, having finished on position seven at the Games.
Pundits have blamed the Queens’ poor showing on various factors, including over reliance on veterans, failure to invest in the youth and infrastructure.
However, Mulilima said, while it is necessary to fuse in young blood, it is also important to team to help with transition.
“We have aged players and that is true. These aged players have experience and, without them, we could have come here number 10. They used experience to contain some teams. So, as we are bringing in youngsters, we should also maintain senior players,” he said.
Mulilima also reiterated that the Queens failed to break into the top-four because of poor preparations.
“We were given about 10 days to prepare for that highly competitive tournament. The duration of our preparation was not the best. Most of our opponents prepared for about three months. All in all, the girls put up, a spirited performances. We tied on points with Uganda and New Zealand but we lost on goal-aggregate. It means that, if we had prepared thoroughly, we could have done better,” he said.
Mulilima also called for clearly defined plans for netball development.
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