Written By: Rika Ogawa Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs By: EusoffWorks
Over at the other court, our girls are also fighting hard against the convening hall, KEVII!
Just a quick recap of the game: A player loses a point when he/she fails to return the ball over the net to the other side of the table. The ball must bounce only once on the table, if the ball bounces more than once, then the person who is receiving loses the point. If the ball misses the table, the person hitting the ball loses the point. The first player to reach 11 points wins the set. Each team match is made up of five individual ties and will end when either side has won three matches.
1st Singles
Despite showing some pre-match jitters, Celeste won the first set with a score of 11-7. After clearly being warmed up, with certain merciless services that the opponent could not receive, she won 11-1 and she ended off the set with a bang as she won 11-3. Despite hitting a few balls to the net, Celeste edged out her opponent with strong forehand smashes and good services. She managed to clock a win for Eusoff in 3 straight sets and lead the girls’ team off to a good start.
1st doubles
Feeling confident from the first win, the first doubles made up of the freshie-senior pair Chole and Sandra. Despite being from different batches, it was clearly not a problem as they had perfect teamwork. In the first set, they led all the way and Chloe showed her prowess with a good smash to bring the score to 9-3. Even though there were several blunders like hitting into the net, the pair eventually won the first set 11-5. With the first set under their belt, they were confident and continued hitting strong shots to throw off their opponents. Their smashes were so fast and brilliant that their opponents were left dumbfounded! They took the second and third set with a breeze. In an interview after the match, Chole was evidently very pleased with her team’s performance.
2nd singles
Next up, we have smiley Jolyne. Despite knowing that her match will ensure Eusoff’s victory, she maintained a calm demeanour. It was a slightly intense start as Jolyne fell slightly behind at 4-3. However, with a fantastic service that forced her opponent to return out of the table, Jolyne went even at 4-4. Amazing! Jolyne never looked back as she continued to win the match 11-5 with a stunning performance. In the next two sets, Jolyne continued to be fired up and showed no mercy to her opponent. Within minutes, she took down all three sets. Well done!
Our paddlers have done an excellent job to kickstart their IHG. Do come down and support their upcoming matches! Go Eusoff!
2nd doubles
After knowing that Eusoff had won, the pressure was eased from the shoulders of seniors Xuan Rui and the captain Elaine. In the first game, Eusoff comfortably won 11-7. However, in the next game, KE7 started to fight harder and eventually won 11-8 to KE7. In the third set, Xuan Rui and Elaine showed equal fighting spirit as despite being 7-5 down, they fought to even the score to 7-7. However, they started trailing behind 9-8 as the opponent’s smashes were too powerful and they could only return with high shots. In the end, they lost the third set 11-9. In the last set, there were a couple of intense shots exchanged and Eusoff was leading 8-5 until the KE7 girls caught up to 8-7 and 8-8. From then, they were caught in a deadlock from 8-8,9-9,10-10. After missing a deuce, Eusoff lost to KE7 13-11 in the last set.
Even though we did not win the second doubles, both Xuan Rui and Elaine showed our opponents that Eusoff will not go down without putting up a fight. At the last part, the game could have gone either way, but unfortunately, it seemed that it was not Eusoff’s day for the 2nd doubles.
3rd Singles
Seeing the inspirational fight by the 2nd doubles ensured that Wang Nuo, the prominent senior was motivated to win the last match of the day. Throughout the 3 straight sets that Wang Nuo won, she always seemed calm and poised. She took the first set 11-4, and quickly resumed the 2nd set winning 11-5. With a couple more well practiced smashes to the edge of the table and brilliant services, Wang Nuo won the 3rd singles and final match of the day with a 11-5.
Overall, the girl’s team were very happy with their results and it was a commendable effort. In general, the matches were action-packed and was a pleasure to watch. Well done Eusoff Table Tennis team! You have done us proud! We look forward to seeing more exciting performances throughout IHG. As for the rest of Eusoff, come watch our paddlers in action!
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