Written by: Ng Sihern
Edited by: Jared Rajiv
Photos by: EusoffWorks
The squash M team continued their IHG journey with a game against Kent Ridge, the up and coming sports hall with many athletes choosing to go there recently. Kent Ridge Hall topped their group, therefore facing Eusoff, who finished 2nd in their group after winning KE previously.
As always, our first player to start off the game is Jia Shen, who faces his IVP teammate. Against a familiar opponent, they probably played against each other during IVP training already. The game started off close, with both players tied till 4-4. Then, the KR player started taking the lead, winning a string of points till 10-4. Jiashen managed to defend 4 game balls, before finally losing the first set 11-8. The 2nd set started off badly for Jiashen as he was trailing 6-2 to KR. Both players were making each other run around the court a lot. Slowly, Jiashen managed to catch up and even take the lead. Eventually the set ended 11-8 to EH. The match score was now 1-1. The 3rd and 4th set was much more comfortable for Jiashen as he wrapped those up 11-2 and 11-3. Great performance by Jiashen and Eusoff take the first match.
The 2nd player is Chaitanya who was begging me not to slander him on the telegram commentary because he was going against the 3rd best player in NUS. Well he was not wrong, his opponent was really quite good. Chai lost the first set 11-4. I think the KR player realized Chai was actually quite decent so he had to go tryhard mode. The 2nd set finished 11-3 and the last set ended 11-1. KR took the match 3-0 and the game score was tied 1-1. It was a good fight by Chai though. He was just being generous today.
Our 3rd player is Sizheng, who some supporters claim looked a bit like Hinata with his hair. Both players were rather equally matched. The points were equal all the way to 10-10, with each player struggling to take the lead against the other. But it was Sizheng who took the first set 12-10. THe 2nd set was easier for Sizheng who finished it 11-7. The KR player looked tired already. Sizheng actually is really quick on the court. The friction his shoes have is pretty insane. Okay anyways, he earned a big lead with his strong performance, 10-3 was the score. Then Kiwi did something to the telegram commentary, allowing people to comment i think. I think because of that, KR started catching up. Luckily Sizheng managed to close the set 11-7. He comfortably seals the match 3-0 and the game score is now 2-1.
Sizheng comfortably returning KRs shot with his stunning backhand
4th player Ay-ay-ron. His opponent was no match for him. Instead, the opponent kept shouting after he lost a point. Good I guess, so I know whenever Eusoff scores a point. It can be hard to hear what the referee says sometimes. The first set ends 11-5 to EH. Nothing changed in the 2nd set, Aaron is still winning and the KR player is still shouting. All we need to hear is 11 “arrgghhh”s and we know we won the game. 2nd set finished 11-8 and the third ended 11-5. With that, the match ended 3-0. Which also means the game score is 3-1. Which also means we have successfully made it to the finals!
Aaron casually bringing home the win against KR
Our last player, also the chillest player, Elvis. Just like his previous match against KE, he seems relaxed and ready to make his opponent run! Easily, the first set ended 11-5. Unfortunately, the lights went off and they had to switch courts. I think Elvis knew it's late and wanted to go back too so he decided to just end it quickly. The 2nd set ended 11-0. In the 3rd set, the lights went off in the other court as well. Just to finish it, both players played in the dark. The 3rd set ended 11-1.
With that, the squash boys take the game with a score of 4-1 and booked their place in the finals. Despite the fact that they faced the strongest team in the other group, they managed to come out on top. They face a familiar opponent, TH, in the finals. They played TH in their first match of the season and lost 4-1. Looks like they will be looking to take revenge in the finals. All the best boys and good luck for the finals.
Eusoff Squash M Prelims vs KR
Match 1. Player: JiaShen
11-8 KR
11-8 EH
11-2 EH
11-3 EH
Match 1 score: EH 3-1 KR
Match 2. Player: Chaitanya
11-4 KR
11-3 KR
11-1 KR
Match 2 score: EH 0-3 KR
Match 3. Player: Sizheng
12-10 EH
11-7 EH
11-7 EH
Match 3 score. EH 3-0 KR
Match 4. Player: Aaron
11-5 EH
11-8 EH
11-5 EH
Match 4 score: EH 3-0 KR
Match 5. Player: Elvis
11-5 EH
11-0 EH
11-2 EH
Match 5 score: EH 3-0 KR
Overall game score: EH 4-1 KR
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