The Publications Committee Team would like to wish all KEVIIans a happy Chinese New Year!!

Animated Gif File from: 123greetings.com

Pubz Comm wishes to congratulate both Hall Play and XQRJ for the success of their events, held last week.

Some pictures for everyone to enjoy while waiting for our 2nd newsletter Imagine to come out in early March:-

HALL PLAY: Till we have Faces

10th Xing Qing Rong Ji

Pubz Comm Reporter: Siva Subramaniam

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KE 4-1 EH

Last night, history was made as the KE 7 Men’s squash team defended their championship by demolishing EH 4-1 and winning the Gold medal for the second year running. To double KE’s euphoria, the KE 7 Women’s squash team also won Gold minutes before with their hard-fought upset of Squash heavyweights KR.

2 more Golds in the bag for KE 7!

After the heart-stopping excitement of the girls’ final, the guys’ final was comparatively a very dull affair. Having beaten Eusoff in the first preliminary round 3-2, our boys were confident of doing it again. The KE crowd practically flooded the stands, with special appearances by Hall Master Prof Ho and GH block RF Mr Jenson Goh, amongst others. The seemingly non-existent Eusoff crowd amounted to a grand total of 10 or less and we suspect these were members of the video and photo committees. It was almost as if EH did not believe they could win and told their supporters not to bother coming down.

Sadly for Eusoff, they were right.

In the first match, Denis from KE played an IVP player, Homan from EH. Despite Denis’ superb placement of his shots and talent for making tough returns, he was overpowered and outrun by his skillful adversary. After losing the first set 3-9, he fought bravely in the 2^nd set, almost taking control of the set but eventually lost it 5-9. Towards the end of the 2^nd set it became obvious that Denis was injured. He was limping from an ankle injury and grimaced every so often from a strained back. Regardless of his pain, he did not show signs of giving up and pushed on with, rather literally, his best foot forward. Alas he lost the 3^rd set 1-9. There was thunderous applause for Denis as he came off the court with a pained expression on his face- the hall was proud of him.

Next up was an IVP all-star face-off between KE captain Sean (incidentally also the IVP squad captain) and EH’s Navin (coincidentally the IVP squad vice-captain). The two players took to the courts to warm up, both wearing their IVP squash jackets. After some vigorous warm-ups they players came out of the court sweating profusely, took off their jackets and went back in to start the match. It was a dazzling display of Squash and the supporters ‘oooh’ed and ‘ahhh’ed along with the brilliant shots and saves made by both players. Though the rallies were long and entertaining, it was obvious that Sean had the upper hand. He won almost every point in the match, only losing serve once or twice by service faults. Sean won the first two sets easily 9-0, 9-0. In the 3^rd one, Navin got his big break and managed to get one point off Sean! This, to be honest was an amazing feat, even though it was only because of an unforced error. The EH crowd cheered in jubilation. Subsequently Sean finished the game off, winning 9-0, 9-0, 9-1.

The 3^rd and 4^th matches were played concurrently in 2 courts but both were similar in that they were one-sided. Kwan Rong had little trouble against Seng Tuck from EH, beating him 9-0, 9-3, 9-0. Although his match started slightly later, Raymond finished first. He conquered his opponent Chung Hung by a domineering margin of 9-0, 9-1, 9-1.

This meant that we had won the match 3-1. KE had won the IHG Gold! Christopher from KE played the final (inconsequential) match against Ying Shuo from EH. There was no pressure on either of them and hence they both played their natural game. Although Ying Shuo did not give in easily, Chris won over the crowd and his opponent with his determination and positive attitude. The match went to KE 9-4, 9-4, 9-1. That match rounded up this year’s Squash IHG with a 4-1 win against EH in the finals, even bettering our previous showing against them in the prelims (which we won 3-2).

Our Squash team has lived up to the hall’s expectations and their own by bringing the championship back for a second year. Hopefully this title gets comfortable and remains with KE for years to come.

Victory has indeed crowned the brave. Cheers to KE Squash!

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GOLD for KE! 

Pubz Comm Reporter: Liu Chen Yao 

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The King Edward VII Hall female squash teams confirmed their passage to the semi-final on 30^th January 2008 with great effort and spirit. We showed our persistence and courage throughout all the ups and downs of the matches. Finally we get to prove ourselves by entering the semi-finals with honor and glory.

It was a really loud and lively evening at the SRC Squash Courts. Excited fans from Temasek hall and from our hall kept shouting, cheering and applauding as the first set started around 7 pm. Yen Lin did really an excellent opening job as she comfortably defeated her opponent, Xin Meilin from Temasek. She wrapped it up quickly with victories 9- 0 in the first 2 matches.

The ecstasy from the promising start seemed to diminish as our next player, Sakshi, met with trouble to beat Elestine from Temasek. Things seemed to go in favor of the component as we lost our first match by 6 -9, and the second by 7- 9.

However, KE players will never be scared and disappointed. We thus showed our spirit and determination when Theng Wai stepped onto the court. This round was especially long and full of ups and downs. Both sides appeared to match each other and generated strokes with almost the same force. We won the first match by 9 – 5, but lost the second one by 3 – 9. When it came to the final one, the scores increased till they mirrored each other: 8-8!! The intensified match drained both sides out of energy, but with strong determination and formidable persistence, Theng Wai tried her very best to beat the opponent. Opportunities to victory came when the Temasek opponent made a series of errors. Theng Wai seized every chance and successfully beat the opponent by 10-8!!

The fourth match continued to uphold the glory and strong spirit of our hall. Janice Lee lost the first match to Samantha. The second match also started out with a series of mistakes from our side, but fortunately our player quickly calmed down, exerted all her force and finally took back the match by 10-9!! The opponent seemed to have already ran out of energy and lost her focus.  As she started making a lot of unforced errors, Janice Lee quickly finished the third match by 9-1!!

Excellent Job! King Edward VII Female Squash Team!!

Not only did our team won, but more importantly, they never gave up despite the harsh situations they were put in.

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The KEVII Female Squash team subsequently went on to win the Semi-finals as well, making their way into the Squash Finals.

Score summary: KE vs SH: 3-2

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Report for the Squash Finals, in which we proudly won GOLD, will be up shortly.

Pubz Comm Reporter: Yu Kit Chan

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Badminton Prelims (F): KE vs KR (1-4)

            The preliminary round for Badminton opened with a singles match between Lee May and her opponent from Kent Ridge. Even though signs of weariness were beginning to show on Lee May’s face as she fought to fend off her opponent, she never stopped trying her best. However, her opponent’s relentless attack of fast shots tended to end in the far corner of the court and Lee May eventually had to concede defeat.

            Next up was the doubles match with Rebecca and Beatrice pairing up to face off their Kent Ridge opponents. As the match started, our KE duo clearly had the more serious and business-like attitude towards the game while their opponents appeared to have a somewhat happy-go-lucky outlook. The strong teamwork and chemistry between Rebecca and Beatrice was evident. Within seconds from the start of the game, a quick return from Rebecca that took KR by surprise earned loud screams and cheers from the KE supporters. Rebecca and Beatrice clearly had the upper hand in terms of technique and skill. However, hampered by injury, the pair was unable to return a few deft shots by their opponents. It turned out to be a very close fight and both teams battled hard for each precious point. In the end, KE lost by a very narrow margin as seen from the scores of 21-19, 21-18.

            The third match was another singles match with Hui Ning representing KE. The game had an optimistic start. However, the situation turned a little bleak as Hui Ning repeatedly had to scramble around the court to return her opponent’s fast and varied shots. Yet, Hui Ning was never daunted by her intimidating opponent and fought back as hard as she could, executing a few drop shots that took her opponent by surprise. However, victory did not belong to KE for this match.

            Elnora and Brenda took to the courts for the next doubles match. It was a hard fight as the opponents attacked quickly and aggressively. Despite both Brenda and Nora being well seasoned players, the onslaught of smashes from the opposing pair was somewhat overwhelming. However, their steely determination never wavered and they pulled off a few brilliant shots as they fought hard against their opponents.

The very last match was the longest and by far the most exciting one. It was a singles match with Janice Lee representing KE. The match was off to a shaky start as Janice conceded the first set to her opponent. She quickly picked up strength of her attack though, as she started to overpower her opponent with smashes and drop shots. Stunned, her opponent fumbled often and the second set went to Janice.

 All eyes were on the two players as they begun their third and final set of the match. Sitting amidst the loud cheering from both KE and KR supporters, one could really feel the electrifying tension in the air then. The audience groaned and cheered for each point lost or scored and held their breaths in anticipation as both girls seemed fired up for their last set and were almost evenly matched. Janice’s intense concentration in the game only seemed to grow as she fired smash after smash, while her opponent’s uncertainty became more obvious. Janice’s shout of triumph finished off the game after her final smash and the KE supporters erupted into ecstatic cheers and screams of congratulations. Victory had never been so sweet before.

It was a triumphant ending to an otherwise slightly disappointing preliminary round and it really boosted the morale of both team players and supporters. We are immensely proud of our badminton girl team for their sportsmanship and persistent efforts.  They have every right to be proud of themselves as well.

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