Written By: Rika Ogawa Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs By: Eusoffworks
After beating Sheares 4-1 in the previous preliminary match, the Eusoff Table Tennis boys were up against Raffles Hall (RH) tonight. The winning team would face a relatively weaker opponent in the semi-finals. Even with the hot unairconditioned atmosphere, the guys team warmed up intensely with each other before the match.
In the first match, we had the first singles Choon Hooi to begin the match. As the starting player, Choon Hooi clearly knew how important his role was and he sure did not disappoint! He executed strong forehand smashes to the opponent’s backhand and constantly forced the opponents to make errors by either forcing the opponent to hit to the ceiling or into the net. He eventually won the first match with a score of 11-8. In the second set, the opponent came back stronger eventually led 9-7. Raffles then called for a timeout. After the timeout, Choon Hooi must have received some pretty darn good advice as he came back to tie at 10-10. After some intense rallies, he then went on to win the set 12-10. In the 3rd set however, even though Choon Hooi fought to comeback from behind, he lost the set just slightly at 11-9. In the last and final set, Choon Hooi refocused and decided to show RH who was boss as he won it swiftly and quickly 11-4.
Moving on the first doubles, we had captain Carlin and Chee Wang. Both of them clearly rode on the high of Choon Hooi’s win and they started the game strong. Strong curling services by Carlin and Chee Wang sent their opponents scrambling to get to the ball. They easily took the first two sets 11-6 and 11-7 respectively. Chee Wang and Carlin displayed the epitome of teamwork by moving in tandem and covering for each other. Most of the time, they smashed continuously, and the opponent could only hit floating shots until they missed the table and lost the point. In the third set, things got more intense and Eusoff was lagging behind 5-9 at one point. However, Carlin and Chee Wang refused to give up and fought back all the way until it tied 9-9. One brilliant smash by Carlin won the second match for Eusoff 11-9.
Unstoppable duo Chee Wang (right) and Carlin (left) with their incredible performance.
In the next singles match, which could be the deciding set, we had the ever reliable and best TM Chee Wan! It was a slow start to the match as Chee Wan lost the first set 11-3 due to smashes from his opponent. In the second set, Chee Wan came back strong to lead 5-3. He consistently forced his opponent to make an error by doing his signature curling smash from 2 meters of the table. The spectators were left wondering, “HOW CAN HE HIT FROM SO FAR??” He eventually won the second match 11-7. The third and fourth match went on intensely and Chee Wan and his opponent seemed evenly matched as they each won the set with the scores 11-6 and 11-8 respectively. The game progressed to the 5th set as Chee Wan and his opponent begin shouting after every point won seemingly to challenge who was louder. Clearly, Chee Wan’s shout of victory was far more effective as he won the final set 11-5 to take the victory. Chee Wan’s win meant that Eusoff had already won the match overall with Raffles.
However, despite the win, it was still necessary to finish up the two remaining matches. Thus, for the second doubles, we had Zhi Xin and Le Yuan. Despite some amazing and insanely fast smashes from the doubles pair, they were unfortunately down at the beginning. They tied 7-7 in the first match but eventually lost to Raffles 11-8 in the first set. In the second set, they were still unable to totally recover the momentum and eventually dropped the set 11-6 to RH.
However, from the third set onwards, the doubles pair came back with a renewed and began to play like their life depended on it. They put in a couple of good smashes and good teamwork, successfully winning the third set 11-7. After that win, they seemed to gain momentum and easily won 4 consecutive points to lead 4-0. Despite some minor errors, the pair eventually won 11-7 with a strong smash to the backhand. The match score was even at 2-2, and the pair had a chance to complete their comeback. The last set was intensely played and when the score was 10-8, a pretty crazy smash by Zhi Xin that sent the crowd crazy won the match for Eusoff completing the insane comeback. The final score of this match was 3-2 to Eusoff!
While that match was going on, the third singles was being played concurrently due to the lack of time. For the third singles, we were represented by Raimie the BULLDOG as per request. Perhaps he wanted his scary nickname to scare off all his opponents! WOOF! In the first set, his nickname and his shouts clearly worked as he won his RH opponent. In the second set, he was lagging behind at one point 4-8. However, he did not give up and showed his animal spirit to win! He fought back until 6-8 and 7-9. However, it was not meant to be as he ended his second set losing 11-8. In the 3rd set, he was not to be deterred as he put in some strong kills. At 7-7, he broke the tie and lead 8-7. However, he lost that set 11-9 despite that match being extremely close. The last match continued with some intense rallies with both sides being unable to outsmart each other. At 6-6 Raffles called for a time out and despite continuing to put up a strong fight, Raffles eventually won the fourth set with a score of 11-7.
Raimie the Bulldog, celebrating after earning a point.
Overall, it was a brilliant effort by the Eusoff Table Tennis teams as they came from behind numerous times to win the match 4-1 and are through to the semi-finals! Had any of them not displayed the Eusoffian spirit of never giving up the score might have been different. Good job guys! For those who did not come to support, come down KE7 for some exciting action and some pretty insane smashes and service during their semi-finals. See you there soon!
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