Written by: Amanda Goh
Edited by: Chen Kexin and Lydia Ong
Photos by: EusoffWorks
OVERALL EH 1:4 TH
Despite being the underdogs going into the match, the badminton girls were all determined to put up a strong fight against Temasek Hall in the final match of their IHG season!
1st Singles - Elis
The first singles up was Elis, who amazed the entire audience (aka our team, temasek girls team, and temasek guys team), with her insanely fast footwork and powerful strokes. Her opponent was her junior from Hwa Chong so it was like watching a past-vs-present match, according to ex HwaChongian(?) Gladys Loo. Although the younger HC girl put up a good fight and deftly returned Elis’s powerful shots, Elis came out victorious and showed everyone that she was still the ruling undefeated champion. Taking both sets 21-14, Elis walked off the court to the cheers of her teammates who were determined to follow in her footsteps.
Elis takes confident strides on court.
1st Doubles - Weilynn, Gwen
Next up was doubles Weilynn and Gwen, who were up against two IVP players. Despite that, they started off strong, taking a 5-0 lead with their fast reflexes and good coordination. Shuttlecocks went flying everywhere on our side of the court as TH hit out after out. However, their opponents began catching up and eventually it was 11-8 to our girls at the interval. After the break, the temasek girls began returning our shots, bringing the score to 12-12, then 13-13, then 14-14, going on and on until they reached a deuce at 20-20. With both sides determined not to give up, they played on until TH took the first set at a crazy 27-25. The second set was less intense, as temasek took a lead and eventually, the second set 21-14.
Both Weilynn and Gwen move in sync, never allowing their opponents a single easy point.
2nd Singles - Celine
In another David and Goliath situation, captain Celine faced off against their strongest IVP player (do u see a trend here… cry…), and put up a good fight, getting some really intense shouts out of her opponent. Despite that, her opponent took the first set 21-6, and the second 21-7. However, Celine definitely did not make it fun for her opponent who still had to fight for each and every point!
Celine's height hardly makes for a disadvantage with her powerful leaps.
2nd Doubles - Aderes, Huilin; 3rd Singles - Gladys
Down by two games, our next doubles Aderes and Huilin took the court to keep us in the game. Over on the other side, due to time constraints, Gladys who was playing the last singles took the court as well, against Temaseks.. IVP standard (according to HZ i think) player… tough.
The doubles match started first, and took a strong 4-1 lead. They continued working together flawlessly and eventually pulled away for a 11-4 lead at the interval! However, due to unforeseen circumstances that I did not see because I went to watch another match, Temasek doubles caught up and began leading 15-14 whotttt. Aderes and Huilin gave it their all to get it back but TH eventually took the first set 21-18. Determined not to be out of the running for gold, our doubles began running faster and hitting harder, and after many insane rallies, took the second set 21-16.
Aderes lunges for the shuttlecock while Huilin keeps on the balls of her feet.
As they were playing, Gladys was on the other court fighting hard. She started off strong with a 3-0 lead but after a while her opponent began attacking back and the score was 6-6 after an unfortunate tyco. Her opponent began leading 11-9 at interval, and eventually took the first set 21-15 despite a strong fight from Gladys. The second set began and once again, Gladys’s opponent took the lead and both ladies fought hard for every point, only getting it after long rallies that had them both lunging and running. Sadly, the point went to Temasek when her opponent won the second set 21-16, securing a gold for TH.
A heart-stopping moment as Gladys reaches out with her racquet right before the shuttlecock hits the ground.
Despite the overall loss, doubles Aderes and Huilin continued to fight hard, choosing to focus on nothing but their match. Unfortunately, TH took the lead again and won the second set 21-14, bringing their total score to 4.
First singles: Elis 21-14, 21-14 (W/W)
First doubles: Weilynn and Gwen 25-27, 14-21 (L/L)
Second singles: Celine 6-21, 7-21 (L/L)
Second doubles: Aderes and Huilin 18-21, 21-16 (L/W/L)
Third singles: Gladys 15-21, 16-21 (L/L)
Good job girls for making it to the finals and putting up such a good fight- the atmosphere in the hall was insane and both halls were on the edge until the very end. We are proud of you!
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