Written by: Nikki Than Win
Edited by: Chen Kexin and Lydia Ong
Photos by: EusoffWorks
OVERALL SCORE 4-1 to EUSOFF
What a way to kick start our IHG season with this killer of a performance by our girls in Eusoff Squash! With squash being a highly individualistic sport, it was easy to see how each player put up a stellar performance to easily breeze through their first match day. Personally I was speechless to just how clean the floor was after watching their games- our girls simply swept through most of their games.
Game 1 (1st Singles, Farah)
Farah is regarded to be the ace of the team, do not let her sweet smile and carefree demeanour fool you. She simply outclassed her opponent, winning the first set of the day with a score of 11-4, losing most of her points through her own mistakes. Farah barely broke a sweat and before we knew it she had already won her second set with nearly a clean sheet of 11-1. Farah was methodical when going for the kill, she was determined to conserve her energy in the case that the game was prolonged to 5 sets, but this was simply not the case. Her ball placement was just too much for her opponent to handle and she once again breezed through her last set with an identical score to the first set of 11-4. Leave it up to Farah to show a strong showing for the Eusoff girls’ first game of the season.
Farah serves the ball with a calm face, and fast-as-a-blur movements.
Game 2 (2nd Singles, Fong)
Even before the 1st game had ended the second game on the left court had already begun. Before I knew it the score was already 9 to nothing as Fong was laser focused on the small bouncy squash ball. There was simply no intense rallies as Fong was clearly the better skilled one on the court. A few pitter patters of the ball and we found ourselves cheering as Fong casually strolled through her games, ending the game with the sets 11-0,11-1,11-1. It would be far of a stretch to even call it a competition at this point, Fong really dominated on the courts on Thursday with her precision play. She walked out from that glass chamber with a cheeky smile and our attention immediately shifted over to the right side of the court where the next game was already commencing.
Game 3 (3rd Singles, Ling Yan)
Ling Yan was another assassin on her court. Her thunderous smashes and untouchables drop shots made her opponent run up and down the court. Her ability to place the balls near her opponent’s body made it impossible for her opponent to return most of her balls and you could see her opponent’s body contorting for most of the game. There were incredibly loud cheers by the KE team every time Ling Yan conceded a point, but it is safe to say there were not many of these occasions. Ling Yan also swept her opponent with 11-1, 11-0, 11-3. Near the end of the third set with a score of 10-3, Ling Yan got swatted on the face to the gasps of all her spectators. Like a true champ, she brushed it off and insisted that she was fine as she shook her head to reset her focus and finished the game off with a fancy short ball.
Game 4 (4th Singles, Bik Jeun)
New to the Squash IHG we have Bik Jeun’s game with Bik Jeun to serve. Up to this point, Eusoff was dominating their opponents and this was the first true adversity of the day. Bik Jeun was clearly calm in her play, being extremely careful not to get flustered by her strong opponent. For the first set the game was even at 3-3 as neither player seemed to want to budge from having an advantage. With the score at 5-4 with Bik Jeun from behind, she knew she had to turn up the heat. She cleanly scored consecutive points, blazing from behind to end up with a score of 9-6 in Eusoff’s favour. But her opponent found a surge of energy and the set eventually ended up going to a deuce, unfortunately ending in 12-10 with Eusoff’s first loss of the day. Bik Jeun was unfaltering in her efforts to overcome Eusoff’s strongest adversity yet, but after intense post set discussions by her coaches and Bik Jeun’s surprising calmness in the storm, we lost our first game with 12-10, 11-8, 12-10. The games were incredibly close with Bik Jeun being ahead most of the sets but her opponent seemed to thrive and perform well from behind, coming back as Bik Jeun nearly clinched victory over all 3 of the sets. Regardless, she took her loss with humility and we can be sure to expect great things from her as she gains new experience and insights from her first IHG squash game.
First time squash IHG player Bik Jeun may have broken a sweat during the match, but her returns are undoubtedly impressive.
Game 5 (5th Singles, Violet)
The game of the evening was clearly Violet’s game. Violet took a while to warm up before she switched on her serious mode and decided to play the game seriously. Her opponent was strong from the start, with Violet trailing behind for most of the first set ending in 12-10. The competition was neck and neck, it was as if Violet was facing a mirror image of herself, the shots they took were similar, they had a similar height and their play style was nearly identical. As expected with the similarity in their play, Violet took back the second set with a score of 11-5, with Violet seeming to catch her footing in the play. With the 3rd set, although we lost it 11-8, Violet as well as the rest of the Eusoff spectators realised a critical flaw that could be exposed in her opponent. Despite their playstyles being similar, the amount of blood, sweat and dedication that Violet put into the game showed- her opponent was gassing out. Violet kept calm and took on a poker face throughout the sets, but her opponent next to her was seen panting by the 3rd set, this was our chance. Our Eusoff supporters started chanting Violet the Pilot as it was Violet who was clearly in control of the latter half of the game! Placing difficult shots, making her opponent run, she did not give her opponent time to breathe, winning the next two sets easily with 11-5 and 11-4. Her opponent lost her cool and demanded a reserve as she claimed Violet was in her way, Violet simply was not bothered and knew she had the upper hand, out lasting her opponent when it came to stamina.
Violet just chilling while watching her opponent suffer...
1st singles Farah (won)
3-0
2nd Singles Fong (won)
3-0
3rd Singles Ling Yan (won)
3-0
4th Singles Bik Jeun (lost)
0-3
5th Singles Violet (won)
3-2
Our Squash girls definitely showed a strong standing in their first victory of the season, we can be sure to expect more from our girls as this victory boosts their confidence and sense of the IHG competition this year. Cheer on for our girls!
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