IHG Week 8 Round-Up by Yeo Ying Tong

4 Feb 2014, Tuesday

Sepak Takraw vs Hall 6
WON 2-1

Our Sepak Takraw team beat Hall 6 in the Final Pool game today to qualify for the quarterfinals.

First up was the trio of Wong Zi Hao Billy, Parthiban Mathevanan andFadli Amin. They made short work of their opponents in a lopsided victory to draw first blood.

The next game, however, was rather close and a lot more nerve-wrecking. Kenneth Gan, Terence Cheng and Brendan Liang fought tooth and nail before earning 4 match points at 17-20. With the quarterfinals only a tantalising point away, nerves got the better of them as our opponents managed to claw the score back to 19-20, but they eventually secured the win with a score of 21-19, much to the delight of the crowd.

In the final dead rubber tie, Satyajeet Akhilesh, Arun Vinoth and Blven Chan gave their all despite it being a game of no consequence. They lost this 3rd tie in the end, but this failed to dampen the mood of the team as they had qualified for the quarterfinals.

6 Feb 2014, Thursday

Water Polo vs Hall 5
WON 16-1

The Lion RisesToday’s Polo match brought a little surprise to all the spectators watching by the pool side as they managed to see a very rare sighting of the ‘water lion’, there forth known as Qingguo Chua. His majestic mane was swept to the side as the rose from the water to attempt his very first shot in a competitive match. He was aiming for the stars, but alas, the ball ‘flew over’ the keeper and reached the moon. Thank the heavens for our Darker Knight Vinoth who managed to score the goals needed to put us in a comfortable lead.

After an intense first half against ‘Bai Kai Shui’, the scores were 5 – 1, none scored by our ‘water lion’. Captain Francis ‘The Shark’ Koh decided on a massacre, and fielded none other but The Chosen One, Toh Zhi Hong The scores quickly pulled apart, and the massacre ended with a final score of 16 – 1. 

Despite the fact Hall 2 had 4 sports going on that night, we still had a healthy crowd of spectators cheering on the Polo Team. We are really appreciative of your support and without your loud cheers, we would not be able to dominate the match. Although we know everyone there was just looking for abs. Perverts.

Credits to Yuan Pin Chua

Table Tennis vs Hall 11
Lost 2-3

Our table-tennis team lost 2-3 to Hall 11 in their first game of their season. Hall 11, with several IVP players in their roster, were the firm favourites from the start and despite the best efforts of our team, a massive upset was not on the cards.

Nevertheless, our team's performance was highly encouraging, and the match would have proved an invaluable experience for our fledging team.

Sepak Takraw vs Hall 12
Lost 3-0

What do you do if your opponents refuse to postpone your game in order to capitalise on the absence of your key players?

The right answer, as our takraw team has shown, is to channel your anger and try your best to win it anyway. And it so nearly proved enough, as our team gave them an almighty scare before falling just short.

Yuzheng Peh, Dalston Leong and Terence Cheng took to the courts first. They lost the first set, fought through 5 deuces to win the 2nd, but unfortunately fell just short in the 3rd after another long bout of deuces to lose the 1st game.

This was the cue for the lights at the SRC to go out, so players and supporters alike had to relocate to the unfamiliar surroundings of Hall 3 to continue the action. Arnold Wee, Parthiban Mathevanan and Fadli Amin tried their best, but were soon overpowered by hall 12's strongest trio in straight sets. Simultaneously, Arun Vinoth, Satyajeet Akhilesh and Blven Chan raised hopes by taking the first set, but the earlier conclusion of the other game rendered their eventual defeat a mere afterthought.

Hall 12 may have won this tie, but the circumstances surrounding their victory has rendered it a pyrrhic one, as hollow a victory as it could possibly get. It is not the fact that we lost that rankles, but rather the depths that our opponents have stooped to that leaves a very sour aftertaste. What is the point of sport of one can only win in the absence of your opponents' strongest players?

Having said so, the aforementioned players gave their all and were really only this close to securing the victory that would have been the perfect riposte. We hence wish hall 12 the best of luck in their upcoming takraw match; a fish so out of the water, it's fried.

Netball vs Hall 3

Lost 25-16

Today, despite putting up a good fight, the netball girls conceded defeated to a team with players significantly taller than ours.

From first quarter to the last, the team progressed and played better quarter by quarter. The slow and shaky start did not deter the team from giving their best every time they put their bib on and get back on clock. But time waits for no man. Should the team be given another quarter, the tides would turn and the ship would be sailing in the direction we set out to go.

Enough said about the loss suffered today. The team of very committed players with excellent fighting spirit promise the hall and their dear president that next year this time, Hall 3 will only be getting the ayam penyet that they are supposed to bring back today, and nothing else.

Till then, the netball team will train hard and come back stronger next year.

Credits to YiHui Low

8 Feb 2014, Saturday

Track Heats
4x100m M 1st
4x100m F 1st
4x400m M 1st
4x400m F 3rd

Hall 2 breezed through today’s Track heats as the team finished as the fastest qualifiers for 3 out of 4 events.

The 4x100m men’s team gave Hall 2 a great start to the day thanks to a superb anchor leg by Fadli Amin, possibly due to the immense amount of care and love he received from the crowd. It looked to be a similar story with the 4x100m women’s relay but Hall 3’s 100m SEA Games sprinter managed to close up the huge lead we have built to leave it very tight towards the end, with Mainisah Buang finishing just ahead.

The 4x400m men’s quartet simply stole the show, however. Captain Shukri gave them a great start with a superb first leg, providing the foundation for which the team built on to extend their lead. With a lineup that includes Sports King Emmanuel Chia and Hall King Clinton Chua Ming Kian, this is also most probably the best-looking quartet since The Beatles.

With such an impressive showing today, we hope the track team will built on today’s performance to fulfil the potential that they so obviously have in the finals.

Touch Rugby

WON 5-1 vs Hall 8
WON 5-0 vs Hall 10

Soon after at the SRC Field, it was mission accomplished for our touch rugby boys as they made little fuss of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

In the first game against Hall 8, the team was noticeably a little tense, with passes going astray and the general play tending towards the messy side. The afternoon heat was also getting to the players as tensions threatened to boil over, but the resilience of the team, as well as the quality of the opposition, meant that Hall 2 still managed to run out 5-1 winners.

It was in the 2nd game, however, that the beauty of Hall 2’s play really shone through. After scoring an early try via John Foo, the team spent the next 3-4 minutes getting penned back in their defensive 3rd, a result of a combination of silly fouls and careless passes. But their defence was dogged and superb, and as much as they had the ball, Hall 10 simply had no way past, despite several half-decent attempts. Eventually, Hall 10 failed to capitalise on their one period of dominance, and Hall 2 responded with 4 unanswered tries, sandwiched between some solid touch rugby sprinkled with a little stardust. One such try by Captain Jonathan Wong, or “Eggy”, came at a cost of an square-inch of skin, exemplifying the team’s determination to give their all.

I suppose there must be a price to pay for victory, but it is one which they are all willing to pay.

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