Written by: Jared Rajiv Tan Sreedharan
Edited by: Angelina Grace Pandiman
Photos by: Eusoff Works
As the girls top the group stage preliminary games by remaining undefeated, they face Raffles Hall in the IHG 21/22 Table Tennis girls Semi-finals. This showdown would be a close contest and would be a great stage to display our girl’s sick skills and talents.
For the first singles, we had our superstar freshie series Wann Herng. Starting things strong, Wann Herng went out guns blazing, and although it was neck to neck till the end, the RH player could not find an answer for Wann Herngs superb smashes, resulting in an 11-8 victory in the first set. With a combination of powerful shots by Wann Herng and unforced errors by RH, Eusoff comfortably gains a two-set advantage, 11-6. Wann Herng’s offensive powers were too much to handle, which handed her the third set and first game 11-6 as well.
First Single (Wann Herng): 11-8, 11-6, 11-6
Overall Set Score: 3-0 to EH
Next up we had our dynamic duo Sze Han and Tina, who have displayed class and chemistry in previous matches. They started off strong with their spinning serves, however, RH crept back into the game ever so slightly, and managed to steal the first set 8-11. With a new set ahead, our girls kept their heads up and pushed on taking the second set and tying it up with a scoreline of 11 to 8. RH racked up a few early points, but the pair fought back hard, despite being 5 points down, the set only ended in a 9-11 score. With the game on the line, the girls were in their prime as they demolished RH in the fourth set to tie it up once more (11-4). In the decider match, it was neck to neck, but RH managed to capitalize on a few mistakes and just only gave them a close win. 11-8. Well fought battle by our Eusoff pair.
First Double (Sze Han and Tina): 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11
Overall Set Score: :2-3 to RH
Next to play for Eusoff was Zening. RH attempted some cheap tactics by shouting to throw Zening off, but she was completely unfazed as she calmly took the first set 11-2. More of the same story happened in the second set, as she out-skilled her opponent on all facets and almost took a perfect set, 11-1. Zening was too overpowered, as she won the final set and gave Eusoff the overall lead once again.
Second Singles (Zening): 11-2, 11-1, 11-4
Overall set score: 3-0 to EH
In our second doubles game of this intense semi-finals matchup, was Isabel and Celine. With the first set underway, our girls were slowly finding their footing and unfortunately lost the set 4-11. In the second set, they slowly found their groove and were keeping up with the RH pair. However, a couple of unforced errors on our end slimly gave RH the set. In the third set our girls battled hard till the end and did not give up, sadly, they just fell short.
Second Doubles (Isabel and Celine): 4-11, 5-11, 2-11
Overall set score: 0-3 to RH
It was down to the final match of the day, with both teams’ IHG hopes and dreams riding on this one important game. Representing Eusoff for that game was Zonghan. It was an intense match from the first ball onwards, with each player returning point after point. At one point it was 9-9, but RH managed to get a couple of lucky points which were enough to seal the first set 9-11. Zonghan, although trailing for most of the second set, came back to tie it up 7-7, but once again, RH managed to pull away at the last second. Zonghan was not ready to give up, as she threw everything she had at her opponent, with an array of drop shots, side spin serves and topspin smashes. That gave her enough momentum to take one set back 11-6. The atmosphere was extremely intense, as everyone in the room knew what was at stake in this faithful fourth set. Once again it was neck and neck, with Zonghan keeping up and it went all the way down to the wire 9-9. In the end, a cheesy edge shot gave RH the final point needed to advance.
Third Doubles (Zonghan): 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 9-11
Overall set score: 1-3 to RH
OVERALL SCORE:
3-2 TO RAFFLES
It was a highly intense match among all games, and our girls gave it their all and really fought to the end. It was an amazing journey, which unfortunately ended one game too soon for this talented bunch. Despite trailing for some parts of the game, our girls never gave up and pushed on showed their inspirational fighting spirit, perfectly encapsulating what it means to be a EUSOFFIAN. We are so proud of yall!!!!
Comments