With the amount of talent in our team this year, Hall 4’s Badminton was expected to at least reach the semi-final, if not a top two finish. As one of the stronger sports in the hall, and one of the remaining sports still competing, the journey thus far has been smooth. If all things went according to plan, the challenge was expected to come in the semi-final.
And so it did. The other powerful team in our half of the draw, Hall 3, sailed through without many glitches as well. Boasting several IVP players, they were going to pose a few problems for us.
For the second week running, IHG Badminton was held on a Friday, and support turnout was a concern. But as it was a semi-final, a good number of supporters were rallied down by the Sports Secretaries Hsi En and Hazel, JCRC, and the badminton players themselves. Expecting a fervent fanbase on Hall 3’s corner, as we have seen many times, they turned out disappointing and our support contingent looked superior, to our players’ delight.
At a crucial stage like the semi-final, it was surprising to see both halls agree to switch the order of play, scrapping the traditional order and playing Ladies’ Singles-Men’s Singles-Mixed Doubles-Men’s Doubles-Ladies’ Doubles. Often, when both teams are close in standards, strategies in planning are involved and the order of play makes a lot of difference.
Hall 4’s Ladies’ and Men’s Singles players, Li Si and Paul, are two of the best in NTU. Their relatively easy runs to this stage were expected to be met with some resistance in Hall 3. However, our opponents tinkered with their lineup, and eventually Li Si and Paul faced weaker players.
Li Si, as always, wasted no time in disposing of her opponent. She was smooth and her footwork excellent. It is always a joy to watch her brilliance in motion.
On the other hand, Paul is someone who would usually take his foot off the pedal a little when facing weaker players. He let his strong basics take over and chalked up the points. But we were treated to some of his extraordinary badminton, when his opponent tested him with some gamesmanship, and he let loose his repertoire. He upped the tempo and the jump-smashes started coming.
Hall 3 moved their top male and female players to the Mixed Doubles event to face our seasoned pair of captain Alex and Shuying. Even with the experience – both are graduating players – they were under considerable stress as they faced a formidable opponent. More importantly, we needed to win this or the Men's Doubles to get the third victory to wrap up the series, and things were not looking good.
But from the word "Go", Alex played like a man possessed and Shuying was the perfect partner. They utilised their experience and telepathy to great effect, and it neutralised two opponents who were not Mixed Doubles specialists and had not much coordination. Hall 3 didn't grab the initiative, while the concentration from our players was intense. After we fell back a little at the beginning, we charged and the opponents started losing the belief that they're going to win. We won through a strategy game, in a strategy-based event. This victory would prove crucial later.
Our equally experienced Men's Doubles pair of Zhiye and Damien took to the court next. Although Hall 3's pair had an IVP player like us, we were favoured to take this event. Things looked good as Zhiye was in control of the ground, and Damien was a capable partner. Hall 3 did not have as much harmony as us, but they were a young and dynamic pair that kept putting us under a lot of pressure. They forced us to not even blink. But things got awry when Damien injured his ankle, and - respect for his determination - the opponents capitalised.
The last pair of Shihui and Shaline was up against a class team. The Hall 4 contingent did not put pressure on them and just hoped they have fun and put up a good fight. But our team was raring to cause an upset, and gave their all. Although not as technically-gifted as the rest of the squad, they are two fierce girls. They scored successive points fast and worried the strong opponents. But somehow the plan crumbled as time passed, they started making mistakes, and could not get back on track. The gap in skills became more obvious when Hall 3's IVP player accelerated and they pulled away.
Hall 4 took the series 3-2. Although we had wrapped things up by the third match, making the last two redundant, from what we saw, if the Mixed Doubles pair had not won that titanic battle, we could have been in trouble.
The other semi-final was expectedly won by Hall 2, the other badminton powerhouse in IHG. This is it. Expect fireworks.
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