Sepak Takraw Prelims: KE vs KR

Pubz Comm Reporter: N Puneeth 

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Match 2, KE vs. KR, MPSH6, Friday, 2008-01-12

Even before going into this match, the chances of our team reaching the semi-finals were very slim. We lost to Temasek, and KR in turn defeated Temasek. Therefore in the end our team just enjoyed the moment.

In the first match, the Trio of Terence, Wuhong and Josh were up against a strong KR team. We were guilty of some basic mistakes such as poor serving and returns. The First set proved to be quite a mismatch; the KR team held the upper hand from the very start, finally pocketing the set at 21-10. The second set was just like a carbon copy of the first set; the KR team wrapped up the set 21-10 and with it the match.

In the second match, the Mauritian trio of Hansley, Kevin and Yannick took up the fight against again a good KR team. Our players got off to a good start but as the first set progressed the KR trio picked up the ante and won the hard-fought set 21-16.  In the second set of the match, the story was no different; our team fought hard but again a few critical mistakes proved to be the deciding factors.  We lost the set 21-17, with it the match as well as the fixture.

In the third inconclusive match, it was Colin, Andy and Damian who went took to the court.  The set was a real cliff-hanger with both teams having their fair share of joyful moments.  Yet, as was the case with most of our matches this day,we narrowly lost the set 19-21.  In the second set we had a show of the talents of our Sepak freshies when there was a whole team substitution: Hailong came in for Colin, Teopeng came in for Damian and Junfeng came in for Andy. The so called “kids” of the Sepak team displayed some rare moments of brilliance, but they were not consistent enough to put up a serious challenge for the KR players.  They finally gave in the set 14-21 in favour of KR, and so we again lost the fixture by 3-0.

This year our Sepak team was unfortunately given a hard group to face.  With no IVP players in the squad, it was from the start going to be a tough task for our team to play against seasoned players from other halls.  However, let’s still give due recognition to the KEVII Sepak team for the hard work they put in all these months of training.

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Kudos to KE Sepak team!

Sepak Takraw Prelims: KE vs TH

Pubz Comm Reporter: N Puneeth

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Friday 11^th of January 2008, MPSH 6, KE7 vs TH.

Our hall Sepak Takraw team captained by Colin were pitted against Temasek and Kent ridge Hall. Temasek, the last year finalists appeared destined to top the group.

The first match started off to a slightly delayed start but in the end it proved to be quite a fascinating one.

The Regu(trio) for the first match had Terence as Tekong(server), Josh as Thrower and Wuhong as killer/Striker.

The First Set was a very close and gripping contest, marred by a few umpiring blunders and some uncharacteristic mistakes by both sides. Temasek came in as very aggressive and finally clinched the set at a score of 21-18.but it was a great fight put up by the E Block Trio.

In the Second Set, some great services from both sides were major highlights of the game. There were some amazing rallies and returns to follow. But finally we unfortunately lost the set to Temasek 14-21.

In the second match of the Fixture it was a Do or Die situation for us. This time the trio we fielded was Colin(tekong), Damian (thrower) and Andy (striker), who ensured that we do not go down without a fight. This time the first set was an absolute thriller, both teams fighting tooth and nail . To the joy of all KEVIIans, we finally won the set 22-20.

In the second set of this second match, not only did the Temasek’s server find a nice rhythm but we also made some costly mistakes along the way, so that in the end we lost the set 14-21.

The match was forced into a tie breaking set where the first team to reach 15 with a difference of 2 is adjudged the winner. Once again it was a close fight but we were unable to match the intensity of the Temasek hall players and we went down 15-11.

With the match already in the basket of Temasek hall, there was nothing but pride to play for in the dead rubber. We sent the Mauritian trio of Kevin (tekong), Hansley(striker) and Yannick(sr.){thrower}. They put up a great display of athleticism and accuracy in the first set bagging the set comfortably by the margin of 21-19.

However, in the second set Temasek’s server made life difficult for our regu. We put up a great fight but gave in the set 16-21.

We put on a really good display for the whole Tie breaking set but fell short at the final hurdle, thus perishing 13-15.

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KEVII IHG players, we still believe in you.

And…WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS!

Pubz Comm Reporter: Chrissy Phoong

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12^th January 2008: The long hours of training, bruising and perspiring buckets of sweat under the hot blazing sun all boils down to this very moment. This is the final battle to determine the IHG softball champion. Now, the only thing between us and that title as well as the gold award is the intimidating Temasek Hall. The Temasek team is a fearsome large team of about 30 members, almost 2 times larger than our softball team and moreover, they are the defending IHG softball champions for 2 consecutive years.

We were to field first for the top of the 1^st inning, so our main goal was to provide as much resistance possible to minimize the number of runs Temasek can achieve. We were all flabbergasted at the quality of the Temasek players, realizing the reason they were the favourite every year. Their players were all good batters and often overworking our outfielders. One of the many panic attacks bound to be ever-existent in this game was when it was Temasek captain’s turn to bat. He’s an IVP player, but the fact that made him more frightening was that he’s left-handed. Left-handers tended to hit the ball to the right-field which coincidentally was our weakest point. It was a nerve-racking moment when right-fielder, Bee Ling missed catching the ball and short-stop, Woon Yang with rover, Hong Yi tried to recover the ball to prevent a home-run by Temasek. Fortunately, due to Woon Yang’s accurate high-speed throw back to Dom, the catcher, we managed to get our Temasek player out just in time. We played a strong defense in this inning and Temasek only managed to score 2 runs.

Next, was our turn to play offense. However, it was a sad and rather unfortunate inning for us. Our 1^st batter, Mei Hui managed to hit the ball but couldn’t reach the 1^st base in time, so she was out of the game. The following batter, Hong Yi, had better luck and managed to be safe in 1^st base. However, Ellen who was next was struck out by the consistently good Temasek pitcher. 4^th batter was Woon Yang who hit a good ball but Hong Yi couldn’t reach 2^nd base in time and that concluded our inning. We scored no runs and the score remained 2-0.

The 2^nd inning began with excellent pitchings by Mei Hui. She got the 1^st Temasek batter out. However, the joy was short-lived when the 2^nd batter hit the ball to an unexpected region, the right field. It was another frustrating and distressing moment even for us (the spectators) when the right fielder missed yet again, and Hong Yi rushing to collect the ball to prevent a home-run. Because of his quick actions, the Temasek player managed to reach only the 3^rd base. The inning ended with Temasek extending their lead to 3-0.

In the bottom of the 2^nd inning, there were many events in and out of the game that left our players and supporters agitated, angry or dissatisfied. There were many questionable, heavily contested decisions made by the umpire who received heavy jeering from both the players and supporters alike. His debatable decisions of determining whether the balls reaching the strike zone were strikes or balls, left him unpopular amongst our team. Nevertheless, we respected his calls, and did not let these distract us from the game. There was also another moment when fear and panic seized our hearts at the time Puneeth made the mistake of leaving the 1^st base, risking getting an out and thus, ending the inning. It was a really close call, too close for comfort as the umpire ruled that Puneeth was still safe in 1^st base. It was a truly terrifying moment, even alarming the captain, Woon Yang who requested a time-out. Despite all that, this emotion-draining inning rewarded us with our first run and we were given the first free walk of the match by Temasek. The score was 3-1.

More strong fly balls from Temasek were seen during the 3^rd inning. There were more strike outs given by our very excellent pitcher as well. She never gave Temasek an opportunity to obtain a free walk throughout the game. There was anxiety when Temasek’s left-handed captain’s turn to bat arrived. This time, we were prepared for his flyball. 2^nd base, Ellen superbly caught the flyball, getting the captain out. She was the person of the hour. However, in the haze of joy and happiness, we neglected to watch out for the other players in their bases. Due to this blunder and Temasek’s fast thinking, their player in the 3^rd base took the opportunity to score another run. This was a careless mistake by us and could have been avoided. As a spectator, though, it’s only fair to say that that was a very brilliant and smart move by Temasek. The inning ended with the score 5-1.

This was our last chance to win the game. This was the last inning of the finals. The winning and losing team will be determined in this inning. We started off brilliantly with Hong Yi giving Temasek a grounder. It was easily caught, but a mistake by the Temasek fielders gave Hong Yi the chance to run to 2^nd base. A hit by both Ellen and Woon Yang brought Hong Yi back home, scoring another run for our team. The fast-paced game slowed down a little when the second walk was given to us, thus, advancing our players by one base; Ellen to 3^rd base, Woon Yang to 2^nd and Licia to the 1^st base. It was now up to Anand, our former softball captain, to bring glory to our team. And fail us, he did not. Anand gave Temasek an amazing fly ball, which Temasek’s outfielders failed to catch; therefore, we managed to score 2 runs. It was now 5-4 with none of our players out of the game. Bee Ling managed to hit a decent ball, thus, advancing our players to another base. The bases are fully loaded again with Bee Ling in 1^st base, Anand in 2^nd and Licia in 3^rd. During Dom’s turn to bat, this was the deciding moment. We watched patiently as the usually calm Temasek pitcher fumbled, giving bad pitches to Dom. The pressure to win was building against him and with that, he unintentionally gave Dom, the walk to victory. The score was 5-6. Temasek received the shock of their lives. We were VICTORIOUS!

GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! It was a classic case of the underdog defeating the defending champion. The victory reminded me of the “Miracle on Ice” when the young and less experienced United States players defeated the ice hockey world-champion, Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. We were the rookie team, we beat the defending champions, Temasek Hall who heavily trashed us last year with the score 28-5. We came, we saw, we conquered. We were the first softball team to start training for IHG 2007/2008 and the hard work paid off with the pure bliss of victory and satisfaction.

Under the guidance of Captain Woon Yang, we, the softball players did not mind sacrificing our holidays for the strenuous trainings. Viknesk, a KE senior but a softball newbie have this to say about Woon Yang, “Woon Yang is a demanding yet jovial captain. He knows how to draw the best from people and was able to mould a disparate band of beginners and veterans into a cohesive team”. Ashish commented that the softball trainings were always fun and getting to know the softball players was a great experience. When quoted, our captain, Woon Yang said, “I’m really honoured to be the captain of the winning team this year. I hope that all the other KE sports teams will do as well as us.”

Finally, as a softball player myself, I would happily state this on behalf of the softball team: We salute you, Woon Yang for dedicating your time and energy to train, motivate and encourage us to keep on training and to share your passion for the game. Through thick and thin, through times of frustration and joy, through the trials of IHG, winning every match and establishing ourselves as the IHG softball champion; this is an unforgettable moment for all KE softball players.

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KEVII is the IHG SOFTBALL CHAMPION!