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! ;))
INTER-HALL GAMES 10/11 
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