Written By: Tay Jin Wen Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs By: EusoffWorks
After preparing for this IHG throughout the holidays, it is finally time for our squash boys to show what they’ve got against our arch-rivals Temasek Hall. Although Temasek Hall had very strong and experienced players, our boys were dauntless and fought every match with all they’ve got.
The first match was played by sophomore Zhi Xian who was matched up against an IVP player from Temasek. Despite not having the same level of experience and skillset, Zhi Xian was extremely resilient and tried to outwit and tire out his opponent. Unfortunately, his opponent was really formidable and was able to receive all of Zhi Xian’s hard smashes. Eventually, Temasek took all 3 sets and won the first game. But let’s not be disheartened by this loss! Zhi Xian truly exhibited the Eusoff spirit by continuously thinking of ways to beat his opponent and remaining resilient and composed on court. The continuous screams and cheers by his teammates was an extremely heartwarming scene and we should all be proud of him for displaying such courage!
Next, we have Captain Shaun in action! From the very start of the first set, Captain Shaun was unstoppable. His strokes were so hard that the ball flew out of the court twice!! WHAT INSANE STRENGTH!!! This reporter believes that the rate at which the ball was flying around the court after being hit by Shaun could have killed a person. It was as if both players were in an enclosed room with flying bullets all around them. Just when the opponent returned the ball so strategically towards Shaun’s feet, Shaun suddenly flew up in the air, where he did a “sikkk” split jump to avoid the ball in that split second. Shaun’s crazy reflexes was unmatched by the opponent and Shaun had his opponent running around the court trying to return his balls while Shaun barely moved an inch. He was in so much control of the game such that it was as if there was a tornado around him but it seems as though he could still see everything in slo-mo. His returns were all well-aimed at the corners and he made his opponent sprint from side to side, front to back but could hardly keep up with Shaun at all. IS HE EVEN HUMAN???? It was evident that Shaun was the clear winner and he swept 3 consecutive sets, bagging the first win for Eusoff.
Before I could even catch my breath from the breathtaking match by Shaun, it was Colin’s turn to battle. Colin and his opponent were evenly matched and there were many continuous rallies, with both players trying to tire each other out. The first set went into a deuce, however, TH took the set 12-14. In the second set, sneaky Colin kept hitting the ball to the opponents weak side and nerves got the better of the opponent, resulting in Colin winning the set 11-8. The third and fourth set were won by TH(11-4) and Colin(11-4) respectively. Colin and TH were now even at 2-2 and the winner of the next match would take the game. The atmosphere was sooo tense and this reporter had goosebumps all over. In the deciding match, Colin was down 9-5 but suddenly 2 SIK SMASHES by Colin right at the corners sent TH diving towards the floor but failing to save it. We were now at 9-7 with Colin trailing by 2 points!!! Colin kept a calm head and slowly picked at his opponent with well-placed serves and hard drives. FINALLY COLIN CAUGHT UP TO 10-10!! WHAT A COMEBACK BY COLIN!!!! Everyone at the courts were gripping the edge of their seats, not daring the breathe. Unfortunately, his opponent managed to calm himself down and made 2 clutch plays which Colin flew to attempt to return the ball but could not reach in time. As a result, TH took the game 10-12 and were up 2-1 against us.
The last two matches were played by Jerry and Kenson respectively. Jerry’s opponent had more control over the game and made Jerry run around the court. Luckily, Jerry was as fit as a cheetah and manage to keep up with the scoreline at 4-5 to TH. Jerry’s opponent was hitting all sorts of shots at him, boasts and cross court drives, yet Jerry was unfazed and was moving around at lightning speed defending many of those tough shots. However, towards the end, Jerry was exhausted and the opponents drop shots had him sprinting all over the court, which slowed him down significantly and he could no long keep up. Eventually, TH took all 3 sets with Jerry coming close, but not being able to overcome his opponent despite his hard-fought efforts.
Finally, it was the showdown time between Kenson and his opponent!! Kenson and his opponent were evenly matched, and right off the bat, both players were taking turns to score on each other. Their feet and hands were moving so fast and the ball could barely be seen as both players relentless hit their best shot at each other every round. Kenson’s crazy cross-court drives to the corner and drop shots were difficult for his opponent to take. However, his opponent also had trick shots up his sleeve to outwit Kenson and take a few points himself too. Both players were like swordmasters, brandishing their racquets as if they were holding swords, trying to find any gaps in their opponents defence and striking hard at any loopholes. However, despite the intense and close fight put up by Kenson, his opponent manages to pull through and took 3 sets with Kenson coming along super close with the match scores at 9-11, 10-12 and 9-11 respectively.
Nonetheless good job to our boys! Let’s continue to give them our fullest support for the rest of their matches!
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