Written by: Amanda Goh Edited by: Chen Kexin and Lydia Ong Photos by: EusoffWorks
A sport that requires both strength and agility, badminton is definitely one of the most engaging sports to watch. For IHG, Badminton requires 7 main players, who will be split into 3 singles and 2 doubles, so that there are a total of 5 matches. Each match is played to the best of 3 sets, so the first player to win 2 sets wins the match, and in order to win a set, they have to win 21 points off of their opponent. In the case that the score is 20-20, the set goes to deuce.
Here to continue the team’s winning streak (double gold for IHG last year!!!) are Celine and Huanzhang! Although they both could have easily been in bash, they decided to give up the fame and sponsorships so that they could put all their energy into leading their teams to victory.
Juggling being the head of Eusoff Christian Fellowship and being badminton captain is not an easy task, but no challenge is too great for our very capable female captain Celine.
Celine started playing badminton in Primary 3 after realising that the art club was not for her, and like the alpha woman that she is, she asked her teacher to let her try out for the badminton team and the rest is history. When asked why she likes playing badminton, Celine says that the sport is so interesting that even on such a small court, every game is different and unique, which makes badminton fun and challenging! Also, just like 99% of the male population, one side of her body is now bigger/stronger than the other half (due to badminton of course).
A great captain knows their team inside out, and two players on Celine’s team have been lucky enough to be singled out by her- Felicia “the only female freshie”, and Gladys “skips badminton training to go for dance” Loo. Our understanding and forgiving captain would like to shoutout Felicia, as well as tell Gladys to buck up…
Next up we have our multi talented male captain, Huanzhang! He can act, he can sing, and he can also play badminton wow. Unlike Celine who learnt badminton in school, Huanzhang first picked up badminton right underneath his home, when his dad brought him to play badminton at the void deck when he was 6, and he has never stopped since. Huanzhang loves badminton because it is the world’s fastest sport, and to be a great player like himself, you not only need to have a strong smash, you need to have agility, endurance and finesse (just like him!).
Two lucky people have managed to be singled out by the agile and fast Huanzhang- freshie Si Zheng who “has a killer smash even doe he’s shorter than most of us” and Brian Wong who “just underwent plastic surgery”.
Both captains are also extremely grateful to their TMs for supporting the team with welfare, and while all Celine wants from them are frozen fruits and their presence, matchmaker Huanzhang would like to set up all the single TMs with his teammates, to continue the freshie/tm relationship streak in badminton!
Reading about badminton is so different from actually watching a badminton match, so (if the government allows), do go down to support Eusoff’s extremely talented badminton team during IHG! To make it easier for those who have never played badminton to understand it, the captains have provided a simple summary of the sport. Celine says that it is “Jumping, lunges, and hitting a cock” (not very christian of you…), and Huanzhang would describe it as “A mix of thrilling action and the slow grace of ballet”.
Finally, each captain has closed off with an inspirational quote to their team, and anyone reading this.
Celine:” What’s meant to be is meant to be” (but of course Eusoff is meant to win badminton)
Huanzhang:” If it’s not difficult, it’s not worth it”
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