Written by: Andre Ho
Edited by: Chen Kexin and Lydia Ong
Photos by: EusoffWorks
Sooo, what is squash? Is it simply just tennis with walls?? Box tennis ?? Well... close. Although squash shares its similarities to its racquet cousin tennis, its differences are also evident and plain for all to see. Squash is played in many variations: singles, doubles, mixed; and often to best of 5 matches.
The rules of squash are simple - after the service, players have to rally the ball till the receiving team is unable to return the ball in one bounce off the floor. Players are able to use all 4 walls of the court, however, the ball must hit the front wall each shot, but it can hit the other 3 walls before and after that.
Games are played to 15 points but must be won by two, so if the score is 14-14, the score will have to be 16-14 for a team to win. Players can also win a point if the opposing player interferes with their shot, hits the ball out of bounds, or if the serve does not follow the rules. With this slight understanding of the rules, let's talk about basic tactics. Simply put, your aim is to tire the opponent with well placed shots all around the court, and that is often done through changing the directions of your shots. Think tennis but in a fast paced room. (Again... box tennis??)
Now that we have a better understanding of the sport, let us meet the captains and find out more about themselves. Elvis and Ling Yan are the male and female team captains respectively. Let's start with Elvis and his history with the sport.
Elvis, who has been playing squash since he was 14, joined the sport with a tennis background. When asked why he made the switch to a new sport, he casually joked that when he saw the tennis team, he immediately realised that they were simply not good enough. (Tennis captains please comment!) That same day, this friend brought him to the squash court to have a go at the sport. It was love at first sight (or shot) and from then on, he was committed to a new racquet sport.
Embodying his ‘team first’ mantra, Elvis is never hesitant to provide support and guidance to the squash team, and often stays back to help both the male and female team improve on their skills, earning praise from his teammates.
‘Play hard to get’ and ‘Stay tight’ were two interesting quotes that the captain dished out. Not what it seems, it is a reminder to play in a way that makes it tough for the opponents to reach the ball. Following that up with his favourite moment in EH squash, he simply answered that it was last year's IHG Win.
The squash team will no doubt look to replicate their excellent results in the coming IHG, so do keep an eye out for them!
Lets jump over to the female team, where for captain Ling Yan, her love for dogs is probably the only thing that trumps her love for squash.
Ling Yan mentions that her search for a new racquet sport to try in JC led her to pick up squash, and that the unique and special part of squash is that you can use all 4 walls of the squash court, allowing you to train all by yourself.
‘Always Train Hard’ is the advice she constantly gives herself and her team - and this attitude is evident in their training. She states that even though there are people with more talent , there should be no excuse for someone to train harder than you. Ling Yan is also fueled by the narrow defeat at the previous year’s final, spurring the team on with a chip on her shoulder.
Keeping the morale and intensity in training high, Ling Yan hopes that when it comes to the next IHG, their hard work and determination will pay off greatly, as they aim to help Eusoff win IHG once again.
Hopefully after this article, you have learnt something about the captains and their sport. Remember to continuously support Elvis and Ling Yan as they push the squash team to be the best they can. Do also give some encouragement to the other members off the team as they look to emerge from the isolated corner of Eusoff hall called the squash courts and bring glory to our hall.
Squish Squash!
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