Written by: Andre Ho
Edited by: Chen Kexin and Lydia Ong
Photos by: SMC Publicity
Hailing from KL Malaysia, Clement Tee made the decision to take his talents to Eusoff, and he brings with him the controversial statement….
“ Malaysia food is much better, especially the chicken rice…” says Clementi.
Is he right? Maybe ? Well, we will leave that up for debate. What is not in question, however, is how much better his skills have gotten.
He confidently attributes his improvement to his willingness to learn combined with the guidance of his captain Elvis. He states that Elvis is a good mentor and is always willing to guide those around him. This means that he can learn something new every training session, slowly getting better each time.
Clementi picked up the sport back in High School days as he wanted to try another racquet sport besides his niche table tennis. He started learning it as a recreational sport and was self-taught, often training alone. Hence it was a breath of fresh air when he came over and is now able to spar with other players, as well as receive coaching from the best that Eusoff has to offer.
When asked what he enjoys about the sport, he replied that he loves how ‘ I can create big brain plays’, explaining that it is a sport with many techniques and strategies, allowing him to outplay his opponents. He then began to explain to me various techniques to play the sport, flexing his squash knowledge and ability to me.
Clementi tells me that Eusoff feels very united and being able to banter with people of all races is something uniquely Singaporean. He also appreciates the ease and convenience of the public transport…. But I’m sure based on recent SMRT related news, many will beg to differ. Wanting to get to know the everyone better, he looks forward to more team bonding, so *ahem* Elvis?
Finally, clement has some words for everyone.
We shall start it off with him calling people out, “ .. After trying Deck chicken rice, I'm never gonna touch it ever again.” Ouch.
“Remember to stretch and cool down after training unless you wanna get muscle strains.”
Wise words indeed.
And of course, the classic “Shoutout to all, come and join squash next year !!”
After my interview with Clementi , it was evident that this bubbly boi was ready to train hard to outplay his opponents in the upcoming IHG. Do encourage him when you see him around the block !
Moving on, we have Emma Sebastian, a freshie from the female team. Having already mastered volleyball, she wanted to pick up another sport, hence she decided to join squash. She tells me she has no prior squash or racquet experience, so this is a whole new ball game for her. This motivates her to constantly work hard to improve and reach the same skill level as her seniors.
When asked what she enjoys the most about the sport, she brings up the fact that you can train alone and do not always need a partner to practice. I’m starting to think I should automatically include this for all the squash players since they are gonna say it anyways.
Her training mindset is simple yet effective, ‘Can is can’. No matter how tough and daunting the task at hand seems, you can always achieve it if you put in enough effort. Anything is possible if you work hard enough. Relating to the training mindset, her ultimate goal is to be as good as Jia Sheng, and have the ability to place equally precise and accurate balls for the opponent to chase. She acknowledges she has a long way to go, but i'm sure she will eventually reach that godly level if she continues with this impressive attitude.
Moving on, when asked who the team’s biggest opponents are? Emma boldly says that it isn’t TH or even reigning champions RH, but rather, but none other than themselves. She believes that once everyone unlocks their true potential and plays at their best, no team can stop them from being IHG champions. To prevent potential embarrassment, I hope that Emma is correct.
Her favourite moment in squash so far? “My favourite moment is when Xue Qing got cut.” That way she will come back more determined and train harder than ever before. Truly a visionary and an excellent teammate, Emma knows how to get the best out of her peers, even going as far as planning a year in advance.
Keep an eye out for Emma as she trains to finally be able to trash everyone at king of the court. Do support all the Squashies as they prepare for the upcoming IHG!!
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