JANUARY 2 2009
TAN THIAM PENG
They say you only shed tears for the greatest disappointments.
On a day when the tide turned against a champion, we also saw anger, frustration and disbelief.
A fairytale has fallen. Defending champions of Inter-Hall Games Badminton, Hall 4, succumbed to Hall 10 in a surprise exit. The winners advanced to the last four of this year’s tournament.
To retain the gold was already seen as a mighty feat this year, due to the exodus of key players. But the end came at a stage earlier than expected.
Last year’s captain Alex, veteran players Damien, Shuying and Vicki have graduated; top female player Lisi is no longer in the hall. Although our guys are still considered a force, the team lacked enough girls of quality.
Even though Hall 10 may not be as strong as some of the other quarter finalists, captain Edwin did not want to sound complacent before the tie either.
“This year the quality is well spread out across the halls. We have a fight on our hands today.”
Our electrifying male singles, Paul, breezed through his match, as expected, though it was after a minor hiccup in the first set as his energetic opponent made him sweat. Once the Hall 10 player ran out of gas, it was Paul all the way.
The expected good start was followed by a much-anticipated and exciting match, as our top girl Shihui clashed with theirs. Both halls did not change strategy and kept faith with their top female singles. Shihui pushed the Hall 10 girl quite a bit, but as she was better polished and more aggressive, the match went Hall 10’s way.
Then came the decisive point.
Our hall was banking on taking the three male points as our girls were weaker. This meant Paul, doubles pair Johnson and Edwin, and mixed doubles Zhiye and Shaline had to win. But before the last point, which was a sure win, could be played, the tie was over.
Our male doubles put in an uncharacteristic display, often guilty of overdoing it, with the intention to kill the opponents early. The Hall 10 pair was calm and eventually our guys made many unforced errors. When they lost the first set, the supporters went into hyperventilation.
It was almost the same story in the second and it was bye-bye 2008 for us.
Although we were still only 2-1 down, the next point, the female doubles, was a no-brainer. Qiyun and Sharmin bravely took on the pair from Hall 10 but it was a case of different class.
The score read 1-3. Zhiye and Shaline did not even hit a shuttlecock and it was over.
Earlier in the day, there was better news.
Our water polo team defeated Hall 7 against the odds to reach the quarterfinals as runners-up in the group. It was a nail-biting finish as Hall 4 held out for a 3-2 victory.
The team of Andy, Mark Chew, Mark Teo, James, Hsi En, Gary, Chunrong, Kelvin and Walter took to the pool against an expectedly stronger opponent.
Our star player Andy was like a beacon to the players, as they looked to him for almost everything.
And he justified it all.
Andy was dangerous every time he received the ball in attack, as opponents would swamp him in twos or threes. Two beautiful shots, plus an incredible assist for Mark Teo out of nothing, gave the hall the three goals.
Hall 4 held out as the clock ran down with goalkeeper Gary making many crucial saves in the dying seconds. As the umpire counted down the game’s last minute, Hall 7 pelted our goal endlessly, but to no avail.
