Written by: Alvin Tor
Edited by: Cheng Kai Wen
Photos by: Eusoff Works
This is the FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid C.F, the Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors, the Red-Sox vs the New York Yankees. This is the Eusoff Badminton vs Temasek Badminton. The little boys from Singapore, on behalf of everyone wearing yellow. Badminton M team on a million backs. One smash of the shuttle. One smash of the shuttlecock. They have done it before and they must do it again. Badminton M must.
1st singles: Randall (19-21, 21-18,21-13)
Randall with his bright red pants and lion spirit was ready to Huat Eusoff up. He is playing against Temasek’s captain, the man who narrowly beat Danson in a nail-biting game the last time Eusoff squared off against Temasek. Right away, the tone was set. Both players were not taking things slow, smashing and running as if it was the final point. This game was neck and neck, with the score difference never exceeding more than 2. The first set came down to the final moment when Randall barely smashes it out coupled with Temasek captain making a quick but correct judgment call. However, the second set was Randall’s time to pull away. Randall definitely had the better stamina and he is aware of that. He constantly made his opponent ran and he was sweating profusely by the mid-game. The game was still close but Randall managed to squeak out a win with the last point seeing him roaring in front of his opponent. The third set was when we see Randall’s strategy shine through as he was clearly in better condition to rally out each point and make consistently better shots. The score gap kept widening and eventually Randall won the last point as he threw his racket up in the air in celebration. (not expensive meh?)
Sports D showing his mad appreciation for Randall.
1st doubles: Oscar and Lionel (21-14,21-11)
The Oscar and Lionel duo were what many can only say, ma de OP. They were simply leagues above their opponent. When you have both players that can smash from any point on the court, especially corner to corner at lighting speed, you can only pray to slow them down.
Captain Lionel has not lost a single game since IHG and he definitely didn’t plan to start. The superior skill and speed were all it took for Oscar and Lionel to quickly close out the two sets.
2nd doubles: Zikai and Sizheng (21-23, 9-21)
The duo of Zikai and Sizheng played against a tough duo from Temasek. They fought hard for each point and the first set was probably the closest across all the games as the score went to 21-23. However, it seemed like the defeat in the first set took a toll on them physically and mentally as they could not find answers to Temasek’s offense. Their high caliber skill allowed them to keep the shuttle in play but the deciding factor was Temasek’s aggression as they were constantly attacking Zikai and Sizheng. The boys did their best to defend against their attacks but Temasek was relentless and eventually the boys lost the second set 9-21.
I'm not too sure why the Temask guy behind also bent with Sizheng, but I guess to only imagine seeing things from a beast's POV.
2nd singles Jierui (21-16,21-16)
Being up 2-1 at this point, a win here would mean champions for Eusoff. All eyes were on Jierui. The game was close right from the start. Jierui took every point as if it was the last and he hustled and cheered for every point that he scored. You could see the intensity in his eyes as he smashed every chance he got and stared his opponent down in the process. The score gap slowly widened at the end and Jierui, although fired up, was disciplined in keeping the aggression up and took the first set convincingly 21-16. 1 set away from sealing the revenge. Jierui did not let the pressure get to him. He did not let his lead get into his head either. He was playing really solid badminton and quite frankly, the audience definitely played a part as there was so much momentum going for Jierui as the crowd erupts every time Temasek hits the shuttle out or when Jierui makes a *chef kiss* smash. Again, he was careful not to let the adrenaline get into his head and did not take unnecessary risk, his decision making was on point as every judgment call was correct. This was also true when he was leading 20-17 and amidst all the loud cheers and aggression from Temasek, he remained calm and composed as Temasek hit one barely out and Jierui made that split second dodge. The line judge signaled out and the crowd imploded as the badminton team huddled around Jierui as they won IHG gold!! LFG
Smash after smash, point after point.
3rd singles: Danson (16-21, 21-17, 21-15)
Danson being crowned IHG champion at this point did not let the win get over his head. He was determined to take his own personal revenge against Temasek and we are so glad that he redeemed himself, winning the match with a set score of 2-1 and each set being extremely close and intense.
The guy who never gave up despite his swollen fingers.
It was truly an honour to cover the badminton M team IHG’s journey as they faced their rivals twice. The loss in the prelims was a blessing in disguise as it fired our boys even more. As captain Lionel also said “Even Argentina also lost their first game”. The boys promised to come back stronger and they certainly delivered tonight. Congratulations for the gold Badminton M!
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