Two powerhouses of badminton locked horns to face off with the pride of their halls at stake, vying for the coveted champion's trophy that hall players have been obsessed with since time immemorial.
The final. Win or lose, this is where it ends.
The Hall 4 shuttlers getting pumped up after the team talk.
The passionate support of other Halls were long gone, having seen their teams eliminated in previous rounds of the competition. It was now up to the supporters from both sides to rally behind their players and get the adrenalin pumping. Believe me, with our residents clad in the blue jerseys having made their way down to the SRC badminton hall, one wouldn't have noticed a change in the decibel levels.
As one, we are blue.
The finals got on its way with Paul playing his singles match. The supporters held their breath as point after point, rally after rally went on, with the customary early jitters exhibited by both players. Our Ohmer, though, was evidently a shadow of his normal self on the court this evening, and despite a spirited effort, was not able to hold off his opponent's accurate smashes. His opponent thereafter won the match 21-12, 21-13.
Paul advancing to play the net shot.
1-0 in favour of Hall 2. Not a dream start to our campaign for the winners' medal, but there were 4 more matches to be played. This was sport, and anything could happen.
On to the court stepped Li Si, Hall 4's female singles player. All hopes were on her to restore parity to the scoreline and some semblance of normality in proceedings. At times willfully callous with her service, Li Si confidently shrugged aside the early mistakes and suspect decisions by the linesmen to take the lead. Her opponent, though, was having none of it, keeping pace with our shuttler and never letting her take a moment's breather. Eventually, our Ohmer capitalized on her efficient footwork and accurate shot placement to emerge victorious 21-18, 21-18.
Li Si lifting the shuttlecock into the rear corner of her opponent's court.
The following match had all the promise of a blockbuster, with both sets of players pumped up and ready to prove their worth. Zhi Ye stepped up in his trademark red Asics shoes with his partner, Damien, and from the outset they dominated their opponents and were relentless in attack. Unable to find a reply to the barrage of smashes from the Ohmers, our players comfortably dispatched their opponents 21-9, 21-10.
Damien preparing to serve.
Now that the match was 2-1 in our favour, our female doubles pair of Shaline and Shi Hui began their match. The roomies (in case you didn't know) were cautious in their approach to the match, as were their opponents. We were hoping to win the championship on this match, whilst Hall 2 needed to win this in order to have any hope of successfully defending their title. Eventually, mistakes and a lack of experience were telling factors in our defeat, when the match ended 9-21, 15-21.
The roomies/doubles pair.
As if we needed any more excitement, the match was now tied at 2-2 overall, and the deciding match was to be played by the respective Halls' mixed doubles pairs. Our male player needs no introduction, for he is as well known as he is affable. Shame, if you don't know his name still. His partner, less prominent but equally able on the court, is Shu Ying. The match went on like a novel without any punctuation, both sides giving their all for their Halls. On occasion, Alex threw caution to the wind and dived cross-court in his attempts to retrieve his opponents' shots. Imagine the bruised ribs. Like a script out of Tinseltown, the match went to a rubber, and as fate would have it, luck and skill gave us the victory over Hall 2. The match was won 21-16, 22-24, and 21-14.
If you need any further affirmation, the overall score was 3-2 to Hall 4.
Never getting past us.
The adage goes that every cloud has a silver lining. We may not have met our expectations in other events during this year's IHG, but the badminton trophy was rightfully and deserved won, through grit, sacrifice and the sheer strength of our players' will.
We are the champions. Kudos especially to the graduating seniors who played their last competitive IH badminton match. You will definitely be missed.
But for now, let us celebrate, for there is a new champion. We've reached the zenith.
This is our time.
Alex, Publication Secretary.
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