S'pore netball captain Toh Kai Wei eager for success
SINGAPORE – Toh Kai Wei netball career is remarkable, especially given her early health challenges.
As a newborn, she nearly died when she turned purple and couldn’t breathe. Jokingly, she compared her appearance at the time to a character from James Cameron’s sci-fi film, “Avatar.” Fortunately, her mother arrived home from work just in time to rush her to the hospital, where doctors revived her.
How Toh Kai Wei Started
At 13, Toh started playing netball because it was the only ball sport available for girls at her senior school. Two years later, slipped discs nearly ended her career.
At her lowest point, Toh couldn’t walk or even get out of bed. A simple tap on her back from a teammate during training caused her to collapse in pain.
Over a decade later, Toh still experiences backaches, but she has learned to manage them. She continues to move swiftly around the court, ready to take on the challenges of both the sport and life.
As the most experienced player on the national team, Toh has 84 caps and enjoys her role as co-captain alongside 28-year-old Khor Ting Fang, who stepped in after Charmaine Soh and Aqilah Andin retired last year.
Toh describes her and Khor’s leadership dynamic as a “good cop, bad cop” situation. “I was happy to take on this role because I’ve always been very vocal on the court, discussing plays and guiding the players,” Toh said.
“Ting Fang and I lead in different ways. She focuses on how players feel off the court, while I concentrate on managing court play. I’ll be the one to discipline, and she’ll offer care and support.”
After Kimberly Lim retired in December, Toh transitioned from goal attack to wing attack on the court.
“The movement is very different,” Toh noted. Wing attacks have less room for short bursts and quick direction changes while connecting play, whereas goal attacks cover more ground and have more time to observe the game before taking shots.
An introvert by nature, Toh, who works as a landscaping project manager, enjoys analyzing game strategies in her spare time.
This has helped her develop creative plays in a sport that doesn’t have many flamboyant personalities.
As a goal attack, she would occasionally shoot from a basketball-style lay-up position, even though some coaches discouraged it to maintain simplicity.
Coach ,Trainings and Success History
Her coach at Deloitte Netball Super League, Sneakers Stingrays’ Goh Seck Tuck, has been supportive.
During the upcoming Nations Cup, Toh plans to unveil “The Shanti,” a quick setup play named after
Singapore’s sprint star Shanti Pereira. Singapore will face Canada on September 1 at the OCBC Arena as the defending champions.
Toh believes the rapidly improving national team can achieve even greater success if they remain motivated and work hard together, despite the many retirements.
She said, “Most of the squad has been playing together since 2022, and I’ve noticed improvements in our speed, gameplay, and individual performances in our 2023 recordings.”
Singapore A will also compete in the Nations Cup. This allows younger players to develop for the senior squad and gain international experience, helping them adjust more quickly when promoted.
Khor added, “We play as a team, not just as individuals, and I’m confident that the juniors will step up and fill the big shoes left by Charmaine and Aqilah.”
National coach Annette Bishop stated, “Our first goal is to play each game with precision and minimize errors to deliver our best performance.
“Playing in front of a home crowd is always an honor, and having our passionate supporters behind us is a tremendous boost.”