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What's the story?
In what can be considered a thrilling encounter, the Indian national netball team has managed to overcome arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals of the Asian Netball Championships by the narrowest of margins.
The Indian side ended up victors by a scoreline of 51-50 and hence beat Pakistan, closing out brilliantly to lift the coveted trophy. India have never before won the tournament, making this particular victory against their bitter rivals even sweeter.
In case you didn't know...
The encounter was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the round robin format pitted India against Pakistan earlier on in the competition as well where Pakistan were victorious.
The heart of the matter
India were not considered big favourites to achieve victory in the tournament, but battled it out across various stages of the competition to finally reach the final. Of all the Asian teams involved in the tournament, Pakistan led the way comprehensively with a total of 16 points and a win over India. India were second overall with 13 points, their defeat coming at the hands of their arch-rivals.
In the final, however, the tables turned and India put in a spirited performance till the very end where they held their nerve and managed to scrape through and realise a famous win against their age-old rivals.
What's next?
The victorious Indian team will hope to return to their country with the trophy as soon as possible in what is a proud moment for the entire contingent presently involved in Malaysia.
Author's take
Hockey and cricket generally come to mind when an Indo-Pak sporting rivalry is mentioned, but the netball team of India have indeed made the nation proud with their incredible performance in the Championships, and especially in the final.
