Written by: Jared Rajiv Tan Sreedharan
Edited by: Angelina Grace Pandiman
Photos by: Eusoff Works
With the sound of ping pong balls bouncing off paddles and tables at high speed, our table tennis girls faced the final hurdle of their preliminary matches before the semi-finals. What stood in their way was Sheares Hall on this cold Tuesday night.
The first singles match was played by Ze Ning who was up against a formidable opponent. At the start, Ze Ning was able to shake her opponent with her strong serves which led to easy points and smashes. However, the SH player managed to pull away at the last second, stealing the first set 8-11. Ze Ning remained composed and spicy rallies kicked off from the getgo, it was a matter of who made the first mistake. Ze Ning prevailed and dominated the first half of the game, scoring 4 consecutive points. Unfortunately, SH managed to squeeze past and take the second set 11-7. Ze Ning was 0-2 down, however, kept at it and in true Eusoffian fashion, took two sets back quickly, 11-4 and 11-7 respectively. The final set of this intense first match started, and the unorthodox spin of Ze Ning’s opponent landed her a lot of points and eventually the final set in a tightly contested match. It was a great fight from Ze Ning.
First Singles (Ze Ning): 8-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 4-11
Overall Set Score: 2-3 to SH
Isabel and Celine were up next to play the first doubles match of the night. They started off a lil shaky, however slowly picked up the pace and got some crucial points back in the second set with a much better performance. They definitely applied some pressure onto SH, despite this it was just too late to make a sick comeback, but nevertheless, still, a well-fought match, as the girls battled until the end.
First doubles (Isabel and Celine): 2-11, 7-11, 3-11
Overall Set Score: 0-3 to SH
For our next singles match, we had none other than freshie series superstar Wann Herng. With her strong offensive prowess, it was enough to intimidate and overpower her opponent from the start, as she confidently took set 1 11-7, despite having the game on the line. In the second set, Wann Herng took it up a notch, absolutely smothering her opponent in fast smashes, which led to an 11-3 thrashing. The story was the same in the third and final set and she won 11-2. This gave the team a much-needed boost in morale and motivation, to possibly pull off a massive comeback.
Second singles (Wann Herng): 11-7, 11-3, 11-2
Overall Set Score: 3-0 to EH
our freshie series superstar living up to her name!
The next duo to take the stage was our captain Sze Han and her powerhouse partner, Tina. From warmups, it was obvious that our pair were much more focused and confident in their table tennis skills. The warmup translated into a comfortable 11-6 win in the first set. The chemistry was evident, as they flawlessly covered each other blind spots which helped them complete the clean sweep tie up the overall game score 2 apiece and keep Eusoff in the game.
Second Doubles (Sze Han and Tina): 11-6, 11-5, 11-3
Overall Set Score: 3-0 to EH
It was down to the final game, and representing Eusoff in the decider match against SH was our ace, Zong Han. It was the battle of the grips, as her opponent was using a Penhold grip, while she used a shake hand grip. Which grip would come out on top? Zong Han was very good at throwing in a mix of confusing spin shots to insanely fast topspin shots. This threw her opponent off her game, which gave Zong Han total control of the games. She iced the first game 11-7, which gave her the needed boost. Still maintaining control of the set, and commanding the rallies. Zong Han convincingly secured the second set 11-5. One set away from victory, and Zong Han brought her A-game once again, securing the final set and completing the comeback of dreams, in this high-intensity fixture.
Third singles (Zong Han): 11-7, 11-5, 11-5
Overall Set Score: 3-0 to EH
high fives from the sidelines as Zonghan wins our decider game!
Catch our girls on the 22nd (Saturday) or 23rd (Sunday) in their next match, as they secured their place in the semi-finals. Keep supporting this talented bunch as they progress to the next stage of the competition. Jiayous and Keep it up!!
OVERALL SET SCORE: 3-2 to EH
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