IHG 10/11 Squash (M) Semi-Finals – KE vs TH: A Nail-biting Finish

Written by: Adrian Chia
Edited by: Jocelyn Yeo
Photos by: Xu Nan

Arriving at the squash courts on the 18^th of January brought back painful memories of last year’s IHG. At the same stage of the competition, and against the same opponent, KE lost by a mere whisker to TH after a valiant effort. This year, the rivalry resumed with the promise of a nail-biting clash between the two teams. Some of last year’s players, including Kwan Rong, Chong Guang and Byron were among the old hands present in this year’s teams. Added to the fray were several new players; fresh, eager and determined to bring glory to their halls.

IHG 10/11 Squash (M) KE vs KR – Victory for the Red Knights

Writer: Adrian Chia
Editor: Jocelyn Yeo
Photographer: Zhen Ni

On the 16^th of January, the KE male squash team achieved a victory against KR with an overall score of 5-0 in its second match this season!

Having lost to EH in the previous match, the KE team certainly knew that only a win would give them the chance to advance to the next stage of the competition. With that determination and burning desire to triumph, the players were all fired up and ready to fight. Even their warm up session was so intense that one could have mistaken it to be the real match!

Squash (F) against Sheares Hall on 18/1/11

The KE7 Squash Girls!

Due to an oversight by KE Press, the aforementioned match on the 16th of January was not covered. We sincerely apologize for the error. The match resulted in a 1-4 loss for KEVII, but the girls definitely did not go down without a fight, as the following indivisual game scores prove:

Game 1. Yu Wei. Score: Lost 7-11, 6-11
Game 2. Sophia. Score: Lost 2-11, 5-11
Game 3. Mabel (Captain). Score: 11-1, 11-2
Game 4. Meilani. Score: 10-12, 4-11
Game 5. Theng Wai. Score: 11-9, 10-12, 12-14

When asked for a few comments, Captain Mabel particularly singled two players who especially stood out that day as stellar examples of the never-say-die fighting spirit: Yu Wei who played her matches despite being sick that day, and Meilani, who pressed on despite sustaining a hip injury.

Squash (F): KE vs TH

Written by:Yi Hui
Edited by: Png Ning
With contributions from Jonathan Chan

On the 11^th of January, the SRC squash court was crowded with KE and TH supporters. At half past eight, the first squash (females) IHG match was due to begin. The atmosphere at the court was filed with equal amounts of suspense, excitement, and anticipation – Although Temasek Hall has been known to yield strong players, the KE team was not ready to go down without a strong fight, a belief definitely vindicated in the one and a half hours that followed.

The first match began with Mabel, our squash captain. She was a formidable player to face in the courts, having many years of experience, and indeed proved her prowess in the first match, sending serves which her TH opponent was hard-pressed to return. Mabel led her team to an easy victory in the first match with a score of  11-2, 11-4.

 

The captain in action

Next to step up to the plate was Irene. Admirably, despite being a year 5 medical student with a considerable academic load, she still came to play in the match. However, the grueling day she had put her at a disadvantage, and she lost the match after putting up a brave fight.

Sophia stepped into the courts for the third match. Although squash was not her strongest suit (she is our accomplished swimming captain), she too showed her TH opponent her sportsmanship and fighting spirit. Unfortunately, TH also prevailed in this match.

The fourth match was an exciting one – played between two IVP players, with Theng Wai representing KEVII. The ball literally flew around the court, with rapid serves and long volleys abundant throughout the match. The game moved at such a fast pace that even the referee had difficulty in ruling which player got the points. However, after two long and very close sets, the score was 7-11, 7-11 with us on the losing end. Still, it was a touching moment on court when the two friends and opponents patted each other on a job well done at the end of the game.

An intense fight

At this point, the score was already decided in TH’s favour. However, our last player, Meilani, still played valiantly. Her opponent stunned the entire audience with forceful serves that left our ears ringing and jaws dropped. Fortunately, Meilani kept her cool and adapted, managing to return serves, but in the end was unable to overcome her more experienced opponent.

In the end, the KE-TH game ended with a score of 1-4. However, I’m sure that when asked for the score, any one of the supporters watching the match would also be obliged to add that our players commended themselves highly by their spirit and sportsmanship. We believe that the squash team will continue to give their all, and KE Press wishes them all the best in their future matches!

 

The titans

Squash (M) – KE vs EH

Written by: Adrian
Edited by: Jocelyn
Photos by: Hao Yang, Zhao Yue

On the 11^th of January, KE’s male squash team dived straight  into action for their very first IHG match against Eusoff Hall. Fielding a team comprising mostly of fresh blood, the match certainly proved to be a great display of KE’s fighting spirit, as our players tried their hardest before succumbing to their more fancied and experienced opponents with a score of 1-4.

In the first match, Kelvin was up against Mubin from EH, who had a strong control over most of the game, and his superbly executed serves gave Kelvin a difficult time in adapting to his style of play. Nonetheless, being a true fighter, Kelvin gave it all he had before eventually losing with the scores of 4-11 and 7-11.

Feng Fei played next against Chin Ping, from EH. While Feng Fei had moments of brilliance in his game play, it was certainly not enough against a player vastly more experienced than he was. The final scores, at 6-11 and 4-11, was thus in favour of EH’s Chin Ping.

Having lost the first two games, it was up to Kwan Rong to turn the tide around. Kwan Rong, the most experienced player in this year’s team, was certainly the man to count on as he dished out a wonderful performance, beating his opponent, Malcolm, with the scores of 5-11, 11-7 and 11-6. Playing in his usual gentlemanly and tactical style, he engaged Malcolm in long rallies, often putting the ball in places where his opponent least expected. The KE supporters were equally fantastic. They supported him with all their might, cheering him on loudly whenever he managed to catch Malcolm wrong footed. The Red Knights were certainly delighted with his win!

 

Kwan Rong, fully focused on his task at hand.

Whether KE remained in contention depended on the next match, which was played by none other than Benjamin Tham, the team captain himself. Also known as “Thammy” (or “Tummy”, or any other similar sounding variations), he played to the best of his abilities and fought for every point before bowing out to Stanley from EH with the scores of 5-11, 5-11.

Benjamin retrieving a tricky shot.

The last match was played between Bryan and Melvin (EH). Shouts of “Go Cromwell” from the KE supporters could be heard, referring to Bryan’s character in this year’s HallPlay. Unfortunately, the final score was not in his favour as he lost 2-11 and 7-11.

While it was definitely a pity that the team did not win their first match, it was clear that the players have trained long and hard to prepare for this IHG. So do come down to the squash courts this Sunday to support our squash team in their second match against KR. See you there!

 

KE Squash Team (M) 10/11 - “If you cannot drive straight, don’t boast.”

jan 17th squash (m) semi-finals

Squash (M) Semi-finals: KE vs TH, 2-3

Well done guys! We are proud of you. 🙂

Writer: Adrian Chia
Editor: Ong Qing Liang
Photos: Yeo Wei Sheng

It was the IHG 08/09 Squash (M) finals. Only TH was left standing bewteen KE and the gold medal. Unfazed by the pressure, the KE players displayed such dominance to completely outclass TH with an overall score of 5-0. It was an awesome glory that made all KEVIIans proud.

This season, the KE team made it past the preliminary rounds with convincing victories over RH and KR. Standing in their path towards the finals was none other than their old foe – TH. Some familiar faces could be recognised. Among them was Sean, our ex-captain cum coach, who is now a TH resident (the reason behind his move to TH is a long (some say unfortunate) story. If you are interested to know more, please kindly ask some seniors who know the details).

warming up for the impending battle

For the semi finals, the format of the game was changed to the best of 5 sets (best of 3 was played for the preliminaries). At 11am, the first match finally began with Jia Xu from KE playing against Chong Guang. The difference in their level of skills was soon apparent as Chong Guang, an IVP player, quickly won the first set in just slightly over 3 minutes. Displaying some clever play, Chong Guang capitalized on Jia Xu’s weakness in retrieving low, backhand shots. However, Jia Xu continued battling bravely before ending the game 1-11, 2-11 and 2-11.

a match well fought!

Benjamin was next in action against TH’s Sean. Despite playing to the best of his abilities, Benjamin simply could not keep up with Sean’s powerful and furious shots. Nonetheless, Benjamin certainly put up a good fight as he went all out to steal some points from his vastly superiorly-skilled opponent. He lost the match 1-11, 0-11 and 4-11.

ben tham not giving up

With KE losing the first two matches, it was up to Daniel, captain of the squash team, to keep the flag of KE flying up high. This time round, he was up against Fang Hong from TH. In the first set, Daniel seemed a little frustrated as the umpire made a few calls disadvantageous to him. To make things worse, his racquet spoiled halfway through a rally, and the umpire ruled against a replay for that point. However, Daniel quickly regained his composure and after replacing his raquet, swiftly clinched the set with the score of 11-7. In the next set, Daniel managed to establish a lead right from the start. Through a bizzare twist of fate, it was time for Daniel’s TH counterpart to have his racquet damaged! What a rare affair to have two racquets spoilt in one match! With fewer errors committed, Daniel won the second set too with the same score. Riding on the momentum, Daniel gained confidence in the third set, took the lead swiftly and held on to it tightly, eventually winning the set 11-5.

daniel with a powerful serve

The fourth match played between Christopher from KE and Byron from TH was certainly the most exciting and nerve-wrecking match of the day. With both players evenly skilled, the match could go either way as their scores were tied most of the time throughout the game. Christopher won the first set 11-8. Perhaps suffering from a lapse in concentration in the second, he allowed Byron to establish an insurmountable lead of 7-0 before claiming one point. Byron expectedly won the rest of the points as Christopher decided to conserve his energy instead. The third and fourth sets were easily the fiercest battles of the day, as both players tried to outfox and out-compete each other with all kinds of shots, taking turns to send the another scampering all around the court to retrieve tricky balls. By then, the atmosphere on the court, as well as outside the court, was nail-biting. Tensed to the maximum, both players began to shriek whenever they clinched a point, perhaps to let out some pressure and impose their presence on the opponent. Outside the glass door, the supporters from both camps were also screaming their lungs out to cheer their players on. In the end, each player won one set each (8-11, 11-9) and the game went down to the wire. In the decider, Chrisopther made a few errors early in the set, but he fought hard to reclaim the points. However, despite his valiant efforts, it was Byron who emerged victorious with the score of 11-6, breaking the hearts of all the KE supporters who were present. With that, KE’s hopes of entering the finals were also brutally dashed.

Christopher putting in his all

GO KE!!!

Well done Christopher!

The last match saw Kwan Rong from KE, strolling to a rather easy victory over TH’s Li Hong, with the scores of 11-5, 12-10 and 11-6. Kwan Rong, always appearing calm and composed, was the player with the superior skills and remained in control of the game most of the time.

Kwan Rong wrapping up the day

Despite losing the semi-finals with an overall score of 2-3, we are still extremely proud of our squash team for their valiant efforts. All players definitely exhibited an unwavering spirit and mettle even in times of extreme stress and adversity. Even though we stopped short of defending our gold medal this year, we will definitely mount a stronger challenge and strive to bring the championship back to KE7 next year. Well done KE7 Squash Team! 🙂

jan 17th squash (f) semi-finals

Squash (F) Semi-finals: KE vs EH, 2-3

Great job girls! You have done us proud. 🙂

Writer: Akhilesh
Editor: Ong Qing Liang
Photos: Yeo Wei Sheng

You know you are watching a semi-final when the atmosphere around the courts is tense, when competition is the only smell your nose senses and when the players and fans both feel the importance and pressure of the game. King Edward VII Hall was up against Eusoff Hall for the semi-finals at Court Number 4 on a gloomy Sunday morning. The morning transited from a dull one to an exciting and lively one by the end of the game in which Eusoff restricted KE to a score of 3 – 2 and won the match to enter the finals on the 19th of January.

First up for KE was the familiar face of Theng Wai. She was up against one of the toughest opponents, which just increased the importance of her fight in the first game as it served as a morale booster for the rest of the match. EH started and immediately took the lead with a couple of powerful low serves that foxed Theng Wai. The first set saw KE running all over the place in a brilliant effort to keep up with the ball. EH finished the set 11 – 0. In the second set Theng Wai gave a much stronger fight when she found a weakness in the Eusoff player’s game. Repeated boasts that landed right near the front wall of the court had the girl in ‘yellow’ in a fix. Some of the shots and returns from Theng Wai in the game were unbelievable and unplayable, which helped her fight back. Eusoff won the second set with a score of 11 – 3 and thus won the first game.

Theng Wai remaining focused

Mabel represented KE in the second game and as expected, walked through the game effortlessly. Mabel’s serves could be described with a million adjectives, but here are a few that need to be mentioned – beautiful, hard, dropping, near the corner of the court. The worst thing from EH’s point of view would have been that these amazing serves never stood alone, they would nearly always be followed by skillful returns that left EH standing at the centre of the court, completely bowled over. Mabel finished the first set 11 – 2. The second set was also the same story – unplayable serves and strong returns every now and then. Mabel finished the second set even faster than the first one with a score of 11 – 3 and won the second game for KE. Good job Mabel!

Mabel with a swift return

Go Mabel!

With the match tied at 1 – 1, Christina walked into the court for the third game. Eusoff started and immediately took the lead. EH’s game was characterized with high and far reaching shots that nearly always hit the glass wall at the back of the court. There were a couple of instances when the ball was almost out of bounds, but the referee made her decision boldly and remained unquestionable. Christina’s text book shots were always being picked up by the EH player who would return the ball to one corner, only for Christina to return it brilliantly again. Christina repeatedly played the ball short and sweetly near the front of the court, while EH kept smashing the ball high and towards the back of the court. Evidently, both players had very different game strategies in mind and it was thus very intriguing to watch how each point got decided. A number of the plays were long and well fought by both players, but in the end Eusoff took both sets with scores of 11 – 1 and 11 – 1.

Supporters concentrating intensely on the game

Christina trying her best!

It was now Janice’s turn to enter the enclosed, some say claustrophobic squash court. With her, the hopes of the red half of the audience rested on her shoulders. Eusoff were leading with a score of 2 – 1 and if they won this they would be through to the finals. The pressure just rolled of Janice’s shoulder as she waited patiently for EH to serve. It was not long before KE found themselves in the lead in the first set with a score of 4 – 0. Janice’s skillful and graceful play had never failed to disappoint any lover of the game. It was awe-inspiring to watch her dance about the court killing nearly everything Eusoff threw at her. Her drops just about reached the front wall, her drives nearly always reached the back corners and her serves always landed in the spots that asked the opponent a million questions. She won the first set with a score of 11 – 1. The second set started and KE quickly took the lead again. This game was more interesting to watch, because EH fought back with all their might. You could see the player from EH trying her best to outclass Janice, but it was all in vain as Janice won the second set also with a score of 11 -1, thus winning the game and creating a n intense anticipation for the final match.

Janice outplaying her opponent

A quick word of advice from Christopher

Janice with her powerful serve

Everything depended on the last game. The winner of this game would be playing the finals on Tuesday against Temasek Hall. You could imagine the excitement in and around the court as the final players from both halls walked into the court. Deborah was KE’s final player and she knew the importance of this game. The captain, the players and the sea of red were cheering her on, while the same was being done for the final player from Eusoff Hall. The essence of the IHG was being displayed at Court Number 4 in this semi-final. Team spirit and a strong sense of belonging to one’s Hall was all that mattered. It was amazing to see the final game in such an atmosphere. This was the fastest game of squash that was played that morning. Eusoff would serve hard and KE would return harder, KE would serve fast and EH would return faster. The ball received a terrible beating from each of the girls. The EH player quietly took the lead in the beginning and fought hard for every single point she won. Deborah was determined to narrow the lead and did so successfully with some inspring play. After a tiring couple of minutes (the exhaustion could be seen on everyone’s face) the score was 3 – 3. From here on, EH accelerated their game and KE followed suit. The game went on and finally finished with Eusoff winning the set 11 – 5. The minute Deborah walked out of the court she was surrounded by the senior players – Yu Wei, Theng Wai, Janice, Chris and Daniel – giving her bountiful advice. She soaked in all the expertise that she could and entered the court for the second set. This set also was fast paced and exciting as KE ran around the court trying nail EH. Deborah and her opponent fought out every single point again. The score ticked along to 10 – 3, with EH in the lead. One point away from the Finals is what the yellow supporter thought, but it was not so. EH served and KE returned, EH returned to the back of the court and KE dropped it to the front of the court, EH lobbed it to the back of the court and KE dropped it again, EH dropped this time and KE swiftly smashed the ball along the wall to win the point and remind EH that the game was not over. However, KE lost the next point and EH finally finished the set with a score of 11 – 4 to win the match, and enter the finals.

Deborah putting in her all!

Some words of encouragement and advice

Great fight Deborah!

It was a semi-final that was nothing less than a final and the KE girls’ Squash Team have made us very proud with their determined game. It was full of ups and downs, wins and losses, attacking and defending and most importantly, the heart and soul of each player. Well done Squash team! 🙂

 

jan 16th squash (f)

KE vs SH, 3-2

We are into the Semis!!!

Writer: Loraine Ong
Editor: Stephanie Kho

Photos by Shengjie and Yunchao

The female squash team brought victory to KE in their preliminary round, winning Sheares with a score of 3-2. Yuwei, who was the captain of the team, said that she was pleased with the line-up as it went according to her plan.

Theng Wai, our IVP and also the first player for the matches, played against a new player, Pei San and expectedly won the first set of the game and thrashed her opponent in the second set 11-0!

Theng Wai's victory smile 🙂

In the second match, Mabel played as if it was a warm up session for her. For perhaps all her serves in both games lasted only six minutes in total. Her opponent, Ling Xi who seemed to be new to the sport, could not reflect the ball back to the front wall. It was a clear victory for Mabel, thrashing her opponent severely 11-0 for both sets.

It was 'no sweat', man!

The next opponent our team faced was Sabrina. She was of good build which could intimidate me if I were her opponent. Despite that, Christina from KE put up a good fight especially in the second set. However, she lost the game 3-11 and 5-11. Still, we would like to say, “That was a good try, Christina!”

Christina never gave up fighting for KE!

KE then sent their fourth player into the court, with high hopes to win this match.

At approximately 11am, Janice was still frantically slapping herself to wake up.  She was visibly sleepy before the games. On the court, she did not show any signs of sleepiness and convincingly won her opponent Alicia 11-3 and 11-5 in the two matches! =)

Janice in focus

The close fight between Deborah (KE ) and Grace (SH) resulted in an exciting match. Neither of them relented and each scored almost right after another did. In the second game played, Deborah almost perfected a graceful split while trying to receive the ball. However, she lost 8-11 and 6-11. According to Yuwei, the main focus was on the last match because both players were on par.

The most exciting match of the day

Such support shown among KE players is our pride

KE Squash (f) team will enter the semi-finals the following day and we wish them victory once again.

 

jan 14th squash (M)

Squash (M) 2nd Preliminary Round: KE vs RH, 3-2

Our Squash guys made it to the semi-finals!

Writer: Lee Lin Hui
Editor: Ong Qing Liang
Photos: KE Vision

Keeping the momentum up, the KE7 Squash (M) team charged into the semi-finals with a victory of 3-2 over Raffles Hall (RH). The evening had a light-hearted start, with both teams mingling with each other and laughing at their own line-up before the game. However, as each player picked up their racket and walked into the court, the atmosphere tensed immediately, signifying the imminent battle ahead.

Adriel (KE7) started the night against Guo Chuan, the No. 2 playerof RH Squash. It was Adriel’s pilot IHG experience and he remained calm and composed during the game. However, the more experienced Guo Chuan soon pushed the game 0-5 with several well placed shots. Adriel, not one to give up easily, fought back brilliantly with 3 points before missing the set point; losing the 1st set 3-11. The 2nd set saw both players trying to outdo each other with several impressive drop shots. However, Guo Chuan played some tricky shots that had Adriel miscalculating his strokes and thus pulled the score in his favour. Adriel fought on valiantly with fast rail shots and confusing boasts around the walls before ending the set 6-11.

Adriel concentrating

All this while, the other 4 players were busy warming up in the other court to keep their strokes sharp for their match. Daniel (KE), was the second player in the line up against Zhan Jiang (RH). Daniel, with his new blue headband, was brimming with confidence and energy as he entered the court, ready to kill. Once the set kicked off, fast rallies were heard all over as the ball smashed around the 4 walls. Zhan Jiang was unable to keep up with Daniel’s swift game play, failing several attempts to dive for a return. However, the set was not all about Daniel as Zhan Jiang scored with some fantastic drops that caught Daniel off guard. After a series of backhand drops and low front court balls that forced Zhan Jiang to split, Daniel won the 1st set quickly with a score of 11-4. Zhan Jiang gave Daniel a good fight in the 2nd set by countering Daniel’s skills with his agility. He did an excellent job darting around and returning many of Daniel’s low front court lobs. Perhaps Zhan Jiang already knew that he was not Daniel’s match and treated the match as a good training experience. He was clearly enjoying returning Daniel’s shots and was smiling throughout the match. For a moment, the game picked up a notch as the hunted was slowly becoming the hunter. Zhan Jiang played some amazing drops and steadily caught up with Daniel. By then, the game became so electrifying that all spectators were edging off their seats; even passers-by were drawn to this match. RH supporters exploded each time Zhan Jiang gained a point and the score became tied at 10-10. Daniel, on the other hand, did not have the intention of being played around by his prey anymore and quickly delivered 2 shots, ending Zhan Jiang’s memorable night with a score of 12-10; thereby earning KE’s first point in the game.

Daniel being calm and composed

Kwan Rong (KE) was up against Ah Chua (RH) in the third match. This time, our calm and gentle giant was up against a hyped-up imp who made several attention grabbing movements during the game (e.g. hopping as he shuffled his steps and raising his finger in the air each time he scored). Ah Chua tried to make each of his serves count by making a full swing with his body to increase the speed of his shot; but to no avail. The serve lost speed each time it bounced off a wall and Kwan Rong, with his bountiful experience, predicted the course of the ball correctly and waited for the ball to enter his swing each time. He quickly gained points and won the set 11-3. As the match progressed on in the 2nd set, Ah Chua mellowed down and concentrated only on volleying Kwan Rong’s rail and boast shots. Kwan Rong steadily picked up points and ended the match 3 seconds after the final serve was made, clinching a vital second point for KE with a score of 11-5.

Kwan Rong with a powerful serve

Benjamin (KE) took over in the fourth match against Kim Leng (RH). Benjamin decided to follow Daniel’s example and changed his appearance for his match by tucking in his jersey. Perhaps he wanted to distract Kim Leng but all I knew was that Daniel thought he was cute that night. Both players began the 1st set springing around from one side of the court to the other but Benjamin managed to pull the score away from Kim Leng to 6-1. Allowing only another point to Kim Leng, Benjamin ended the 1st set with a score 11-2. Kim Leng put up a better fight in the 2nd set as both players continuosly scored points one after the other till the score was 6-5. From then on, Benjamin slowly edged out of this tug-of-war set and gained victory point for both himself and the team with a score 11-6. KE Squash (M) team is on to the semis!!

Ben Tham looking cute!

Christopher (KE), the last player in the line-up,was up against Tian Long, the No. 1 player of RH Squash. It was the best way to end the night as the 2 professionals showed how intense a squash game can get. Tian Long, as his name suggests, was literally a “dragon in the sky” as he flew across the court to return Christopher’s powerful shots and paid him back with some of his own. Unfortunately, Christopher was not on form that night and his mistakes cost him the first set, losing 4-11 to Tian Long. The 2nd set was equally awe inspiring. Both players displayed some amazing fakes in the game while they tried their very best to outplay each other in both skill and speed. There was an out-of-the-world play by Tian Long nearing the end of the set as he continued to charge for a ball at the back of the court, even though it could have been a let to him (FYI, a “let” is a point which is replayed due to safety reasons or when the ball is served when the receiver is not ready) . Christopher tried doing a light front lob but Tian Long was already diving for it and succeeded! Christopher returned his ball with a hard whack to the back of the court. Tian Long watched as the ball blitzed pass him, got up and sprinted to the back in an instant and gave a killing shot to Christopher. Everyone who watched was awe struck as there was a second of silence before hearing cheers from RH. Christopher was not going to take that lying down and continued to whack some reaping shots but it was just not his night. Tian Long was diving at every possible opportunity to bring the game to a close and even managed to deliver a killing nick! Even though Christopher lost the 2nd set 8-11, he held his head high admist the thunderous cheers from our KE7 supporters.

Although it was not a perfect win this time, our team played better than on Tuesday and certainly had more fun competing against RH. Join our KE7 Squash team this Sunday as they play their semi-finals and take another step towards defending our championship title! (Not forgetting to support the Touch Rugby team in the field when the game is over! ;)) 

jan 12th squash (m)

Squash (M) First Preliminary Round: KE vs KR, 5-0

Writer: Lin Hui
Editor: Stephanie Kho

Photos by Sheng Jie, Liusi, Simin & Yunchao

Today marked the start of KE Squash (M) team’s conquest for gold. They reminded everyone why they were the defending champion after winning their match 5-0 against KR. The Red supporters were all hyped up to watch an exciting game. Musa of GH block was especially enthusiastic in commenting on the players and giving predictions of the outcome of the matches.

The Red supporters

After a long warm up that lasted about 15 minutes, the game started officially with a cheer from the Reds. The first match saw Kwan Rong from KE pitting against KR’s Bora. Bora, known for his versatility in the “Defence of the Ancients” game is affectionately nicknamed as the “Morphling” by his team. However, his versatility did not count for much in front of Kwan Rong who wasted no effort putting Bora in his place in the game. From the warm up, Kwan Rong observed that Bora’s backhand returns were weak and exploited this by lobbing balls from the front to the back of the court; forcing Bora to lose the rallies by missing the ball or hitting the tin. After a few astonishing front court strikes, the match ended with Kwan Rong’s win 11-1 for both sets. A point to note was that each game lasted less than 5 minutes! So, to all his supporters, make sure you pay attention or else you would miss out half a game; and also no toilet breaks. =P

Benjamin fought hard with KR's captain

Next in the line-up was Benjamin Tham (KE) against Captain Shi Quan (KR). According to Musa, both players were evenly matched and victory was a 50-50 chance. Oh, how accurate his prediction was as our aspiring IVP took us on a roller coaster. Both players began with fast rail shots before adding slow drop shots later in their play. Benjamin eventually gained the upper hand and clinched the first set 11-9. Tension in the second set increased as the players raised their game play. Strikes of different directions around the court strained their footwork and precision. Benjamin did especially well as he skilfully waited for some of Shi Quan’s returns before driving them to the other side of the court that got both the Red and Blue supporters clapping in admiration. However, Shi Quan was no pushover. He raised the tempo of the game and eventually gained the upper hand. Benjamin fought hard but lost the match after 3 deuces with the score of 12-14. Despite the loss, Benjamin continued practising during the timeout. This paid off as the third set took off on a fast note without allowing Shi Quan to warm up properly; allowing Benjamin to gain an early lead of 4-1. Shi Quan fought back valiantly, trying to even the scores; but he had to succumb to Benjamin’s merciless attacks, thereby ending the set with 11-8. It was a very good game and clearly the most exciting one that night. =D

Daniel not losing sight of the ball

Daniel, our captain was up next against Marc, Singapore Davis Cup tennis player. This was the highly anticipated match with two titans pitting their skills in the court. Musa made a bold prediction of two fat zeros for Marc. However, Daniel made few valuable mistakes, causing the set to reach 3-4 in Marc’s favour. In the end, Daniel lost the set to Marc 10-12. The second set was played on a whole new level as the balls were either hugging the wall or flying everywhere. The shots were so fast and demanding that it was actually hard following the ball with our eyes. Finally, Marc began to show signs of exhaustion and Daniel won 11-7. The third set was not a let down too. Though Marc started with some good drop shots, he made a few mistakes of hitting the tin. At that point, the game would favour the person with the better stamina and focus. Daniel fully knew that and quickly took control of the game by deviously making Marc run around. KR Squash (M) team’s fate was sealed when Marc just did not have the stamina to carry on and lost the game point to Daniel, ending the set with a score 11-9. With Daniel’s victory, KE bested KR that night.

Wee Lee from KE played the fourth match against Vernon from KR. This match would be decided by the player who commits the least mistakes. Interestingly, both players were mirroring each other’s faults. However, Wee Lee had more experience and pulled the score away from Vernon; winning the first set 11-8. The second set ended quickly due to serving mistakes. Vernon managed to push Wee Lee back and won the set 9-11. What is meant to happen will happen eventually. Vernon tried in vain to tire Wee Lee in the final set, yet he was unable to return Wee Lee’s funny-angled shots. KE won 4-0 as Wee Lee ended the third set with 11-9.

The final match was between Christopher from KE and KR’s Ken Sing. From the first few shots of the game, it was very clear that Christopher was just too good for his opponent. He sent balls flying from one side of the court to the other effortlessly while staying rooted to a spot. Ken Sing, on the other hand, could not do anything to gain control of the ball except trying to return Christopher’s strikes. The first set ended within 10 minutes with Christopher winning 11-2. The second set displayed Christopher’s brilliance as he continued the same skill and drained his opponent. By then, Ken Sing gave up trying to save the game and let the ball bounce past him each time. Without breaking a sweat, literally, Christopher emerged smiling, clean and dry from the court with a perfect score of 11-0 and earning the KE Squash (M) team a perfect win of 5-0!

KEVII's squash team

For anyone who wants to watch a fast and furious game, go down to SRC Squash courts and support KE Squash team this Thursday as they compete against Raffles Hall.