Written by: Denzel Lim Ming Wei
Edited by: Angelina Grace Pandiman
Photos by: Eusoff Works
First singles: Randall 21-5, 21-11 (W/W)
First doubles: Shawn & Lionel 21-14, 21-9 (W/W)
Second singles: Oscar 21-10, 21-17 (W/W)
Second doubles: Sizheng & Jeremy 21-11, 21-17 (W/W)
Third singles: Eikchieh 21-5, 21-0 (W/W)
Overall score: EH 5-0 RH
“With 3 hours of sleep, we complete the sweep”, a quote from a certain someone in the team set the tone for the male badminton team. Not a very ideal mindset if you ask me…. Kidding! As our boys begun to stroke in preparation for their opening match, spirits were high as they found the perfect feeling and groove they needed. While I was figuring out how to set up the livestream on the tripod with the help of tiktok star Danson, I casually snuck in a few questions. “So, what are your thoughts on today’s game?”, to which he sheepishly smiled and commented, “ok la…. They are not bad….”. Next, I spoke to captain Oscar, who suddenly slipped on his court shoes in a hurry. “Shit la I thought I don’t need to play.”, were the words uttered by this dashing blonde. He scurried onto the court and managed to slip in a few minutes of warm up before the game began. For any normal team, such comments should be worrying. But as we already know, Eusoff badminton is far from normal.
Kick starting our first IHG match with the 1st single is Randall Pei, who starts off with an extremely commanding lead of 11-1 at the mid game interval. Looking extremely confident, Randall peeks over in the middle of his rally at the opposite court to watch the slightly more interesting 1st doubles comprising Lionel and Shawn. Randall made his match look like such a walk in the park (man was literally j strolling on the court) that I had to focus on the 1st doubles instead so honestly, there wasn’t much to commentate for his match. He swept his opponent with a dismissive 21-5, 21-11 (W/W).
For our 1st doubles, we have Lionel and Shawn, who actually go way back. These two used to be rivals who competed against each other since primary school days. Their battles always shook the halls with their flamboyant array of skills and finesse. Just imagine how strong this pair would be together. RH started off the match with a stroke of luck as the shuttle dribbled over the net. But Lionel and Shawn were unfazed, taking the next 4 points in succession. Their opponents managed to put up a decent fight as our boys arrived at the mid game interval with a 11-7 lead. After the interval, a series of mistakes narrowed the gap between Eusoff and RH as they caught up to 11-10. Undaunted, Lionel and Shawn played excellent badminton, winning 7 of the next 8 points to bring them closer to sealing the first game. Their first game was sealed with a comfortable score of 21-14. At this point, Oscar, while preparing for his 2nd singles game, gave Lionel and Shawn a few words of advice, before jogging over to his match. I thought Lionel and Shawn were playing excellent badminton in the first game, but they played even better badminton in the second game and left absolutely no room for their opponents to come back. With a dismissive lead of 11-1 in the mid game interval of the second game, things were looking great for our first doubles. Ultimately, they sealed the second game with a 21-9 win. Their rivalry saw that both of them fought each other to deliver the winning smash at match point. 2 clowns squeezing into the net side by side as they tried to hog the glory of winning match point. Seems like they forgot that they were teammates for awhile……
Another sweep by our 1st doubles 21-14, 21-9 (W/W).
Lionel looking hella focused to win the next point
For our 2nd singles, captain Oscar confidently struts onto the court to face RH’s strongest player. Some girls from KR came to watch our heartthrob Oscar dominate his opponent. Watching Oscar play, you can’t even tell that he didn’t warmup much, as he covers the court so well. It’s as though he had 1 hour before to warmup and prepare for the match. With his strong yet precise smashes and slices, Oscar races into a 11-5 lead at the mid game interval. Riding on his momentum, he comfortably seals the first game with a convincing 21-10 victory. However, I guess nobody is perfect. In the second game, the lack of warmup begun to show as Oscar served his first shuttle out. Starting off with a 2-5 deficit, Oscar slowly manages to find his rhythm as he claws his way back up. His smashes were too strong for both his opponent and his racket to handle as he burst his strings shortly after. However, his opponent too found his rhythm and went toe to toe with Oscar, refusing to let the gap widen. Score was 11-10 to Oscar at the mid game interval of the second game. This was by far the most intense game as both sides were shouting to hype themselves up. Despite having such a challenging opponent, Oscar demonstrated why he was the best, by sealing the second game 21-17.
Yet another sweep by our 2nd singles 21-10, 21-17 (W/W).
At this point, Eusoff already won against RH in terms of the scoreboard.
Oscar looks as ready as ever, despite not knowing he was supposed to play in this match (how can...)
But this did not cause our 2nd doubles, Sizheng and Jeremy, to let their guard down. Starting off strong with a 11-8 lead at the mid game interval, things were looking smooth for our 2nd doubles as well. With both of them being known for their very powerful smashes, they pummeled the shuttles past their opponents so quickly that it was very difficult for their opponents to do anything about it. Taking 7 consecutive points at 14-11, Sizheng and Jeremy easily took the 1st game 21-11. Keeping their momentum, Sizheng and Jeremy raced ahead with a 9-2 lead. This time, RH managed to sneak a few shots past our boys and the scores were much closer than the 1st game. However, playing with absolute confidence, Sizheng and Jeremy sealed the second game with a 21-17 victory, completing yet another sweep by our second doubles 21-11, 21-17 (W/W)
Sizheng is prepared for that smaAAASSSHHHH
Lastly, we have EikChieh whose name is very difficult to spell so I shall just call him EC for convenience sake. EC completely dominated his opponent with a 11-3 lead at the first mid game interval. It was a complete annihilation as his opponent celebrated winning 5 points from EC, which seemed to be a very commendable feat from their end. EC took the 1st game 21-5. At this point, people were leaving the livestream as there was honestly not much to watch. EC didn’t like how his opponent celebrated when he won 5 points and thereafter, proceeded to silence him with a 21-0 win in the 2nd game. Damn, show him how it’s done. Last singles 21-5, 21-0 (W/W).
An extremely strong start by our badminton boys as they swept RH without dropping a single game. Do continue supporting our boys for IHG 21/22! (seriously, 30 viewers? Y’all can do much better for future matches la….)
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