* * *
Badminton (M)

KE vs RH - 3 : 2 **VICTORY!**

* * *
Girls’ Badminton: KE vs KR

“Unbeatable”? After our badminton guys lost to KR last week, that was the impression that some Keviians had of KR’s badminton team. But Annie (girls’ captain), believed that a 3 - 2 win was possible - not easy, but certainly not out of reach.

Qian Hong started off strong as the first singles player, defending against her more experienced opponent with a gusto that brought cheers from the KE supporters. However, she and the doubles pair of Ye Dan and Shi Ting were unable to defeat the more skilful opposition despite a courageous fight. Annie challenged her opponent all the way, but was also defeated in the end.

Despite the fact that the overall match had been lost, Brenda and Phaik Ching appeared on court exuding cheerfulness and confidence and ready to play their hearts out. This was an attitude that earned them and the girls’ team victory at last! Gaining momentum as the game progressed, the strong duo managed to win by a large margin in the second match. Coinciding with the victory of the guys’ doubles pair of Damien and Remus on the other side, this brought the spirits of the KE supporters to a high, which was not diminished by the loss of the final match, in which a valiant Qian Ru gave her best despite overwhelming odds.

Not bad for a team composed almost entirely of freshmen who, with the exception of Brenda, had picked up badminton within the last six months!

In an admirable show of solidarity, the girls’ team preserved an unfailing optimism throughout the whole evening and never stopped cheering for their teammates, even when the attention of the main body of KE supporters was temporarily distracted by the drama in the guys’ half of the hall. Well done!

Guys’ Badminton: KE vs RH

The reliable Nino opened the competition with a comfortable victory over his opponent. With steady strokes and an unwavering focus, he accumulated points with aplomb and won both his matches. Punctuating his matches with fearsome roars were the Keviians who had come down to watch. Lining one side of the hall, we formed quite a crowd and were a pretty intimidating sight (especially when all the lao jiao guys roared at the same time).

High drama characterised the next match, which was a face-off between the badminton captains of both halls. The strength of the partnership between Ching Mien and Kai Kai was tried to the utmost! And they did not fail to dazzle with some truly impressive teamwork that involved the shuttlecock flying to and fro with greater speed than it did in any other match that evening. Both pairs played beautifully, forcing each other to fight hard for every point. The score was neck-to-neck all the way in the first match, until 18-18. By now the Keviians were cheering for their beloved pair, as a bystander remarked, as if they were watching soccer.

Something went wrong then, however, and RH earned the last few points in quick succession to win within minutes - a shockingly swift end to what had been a very taxing and protracted battle. Our startled players recovered themselves to start out strong in the next match and it was briefly neck-to-neck again, but after Ching Mien slipped once, they were visibly shaken and the rhythm was upset. RH gained a sudden lead, and after that, all of us suffered with our players as we watched many points lost in quick succession - not wrested from us by skill, but due to errors. The second match ended in victory to RH.

Rising to the occasion after that was Wang Qi, who began his first match in an atmosphere of uncertainty. By the time the match ended in KE’s favour, it had given way to renewed hope and good humour. Known to the badminton guys as “Peter Crouch”, the tallest and thinnest of KE’s players dwarfed his opponent and responded to shouts of “Go Liverpool!” and “Hao qiu!” by winning both his matches through patient, unwavering play. Score two for the Reds!

The next set, another very action-packed one, ended in victory for Damien and Remus, who were very tense to begin with but relaxed as they got into the game. The first match was won in style when Damien hit the shuttlecock over the net to win the last point as he screeched to a halt after a giant leap across the court, a move so dramatic that everyone burst out laughing. The second match too was won after a close fight. The KE ‘football crowd’ bubbled over with delight. We had won the overall game against RH!

In the last match, Hong Kiat lost to a small and cute player from Raffles Hall, who was extremely light on his feet and endeared himself to all of us with his grand, maverick strokes and the way he managed to pull off some truly amazing stunts. Some of us ended up clapping for both sides! It was also a match well-fought, and a good end to the day’s work.

* * *

After the match, the normally reserved Ching Mien was so happy he could only say, “I’m overjoyed! I’m so happy! Interview me more!” For this man of few words to repeat “I’m so happy!” as many times as he did, that is strong emotion indeed! We have made it to semi-finals, surpassing our performance last year. While this was an expected victory, the players were very evenly matched today and it was touch-and-go at some points. And, while we may run up against sports giants Eusoff and Temasek in the semis, as Ching Mien says, “There is always a possibility that we may win”. He believes that the team has reached their peak (”except for me, paiseh, I think I can do better”) and is certain that they will acquit themselves well.

Ching Mien: “WE DID IT!! I’m proud of my team. Thank you, fans, for believing in us. And thank God, without whom we couldn’t have done it at all!”

Annie is very proud of the girls as well and happy that the turnout of supporters this year was much greater compared to last year. “At least can hear some sound!” We can afford to show more unity in our cheering though - compared to KR and RH today, who occasionally broke out into hall cheers, we are still a rather ‘quiet’ hall - our cheering consists mainly of individuals with loud voices cheering one sentence at a time.

Good job badminton guys and girls! You have done us proud! Keviians, make sure you go down to support them during semi-finals, coming soon on Tuesday or Wednesday!

- Joanna