IHG & IHRG Week 4 Round-Up by Yeo Ying Tong

6 Jan 2014, Monday

Volleyball F v Hall 7
LOSE 0-2

Our volleyball team fell at the quarter-final hurdle today with a 2-0 loss to Hall 7. The girls fought hard and tried their best, but were at last unable to overcome the team which just had the better luck on the day.

Having said so, it was a commendable effort from the girls, for they were consistently 5 points behind in the first set, but they managed to dig deep and find immense reserves of fighting spirit and willpower to claw it back to 20-20. This impressive comeback was led by the likes of Joan Lim and Mainisah Buang, who led by example and always inspired the team to try their best.

It was really unfortunate that we lost, as if the Gods were conspiring to deny us the win we so deserve. This result simply does not do the hard work that our girls have put in any justice at all. But they say that it is in defeat that we learn our greatest lessons, and I cannot agree more. We hope that this match will serve as a source of strength and inspiration, the driving force behind the team when they face future challenges, which they will, but this time, emerge victorious.

 Photo Credits: Neo Wen Ling

Darts

v Hall 6 WIN 4-1
v Hall 15 LOSE 2-3
v Hall 1 WIN 4-1
v Hall 8 WIN 3-2
v Hall 12 LOSE 2-3

With 3 wins from the preliminaries today, our team stand a good chance of making the semi-finals, should we win our remaining games tomorrow.

Photo Credits: Neo Wen Ling

8 Jan 2014, Wednesday

Soccer v Hall 14
WIN 5-0

Our soccer boys went one better than their previous game with a resounding 5-0 win over Hall 14 to qualify for the quarter-finals in style.

2 goals from Farhan Azmi, headers from captain Kenneth Gan and Yong Geng Tan, and a stunning free-kick from Wong Zi Hao Billy ensured that Hall 2's dominance of the ball had the right result to go with it.

It was not all smooth-sailing, however, as Hall 14 threatened to score from set-pieces on a few occasions, and goalkeeper Eugene Koh had to be on his toes to secure the clean sheet. Substitute goalkeeperShaowei Lim also pulled off a fine save when Hall 14 had a one-on-one chance in the 2nd half. Nevertheless, the manner in which Hall 2 controlled the game would have pleased all supporters present at the game.

Badminton
v Hall 9 WIN 3-2

v Hall 13 LOSE 1-4 (Quarter-final)

The overall score is 2-2, you are one set down in the final game, and your opponent is 18-14 up, 3 points from securing their Hall the victory. Do you give up?

That was the situation Gan Soon Chuen and Wang Ling Toh faced in their Mixed Doubles game against Hall 9, 4 points down, with a mountain to climb to even equal the score. But that was exactly what they did, showing amazing fighting spirit to win the set and eventually the game, providing a gripping end to what had been a tense and emotional tie.

The quarter-final against Hall 13 may have eventually proved a step too far, a mountain too high, but the manner in which our badminton team even qualified for the quarter-finals is highly admirable and will hopefully live long in the memory of those who witnessed it.

Scrabble

v Hall 4 WIN 5-0
v Hall 15 LOSE 4-1
v Hall 16 LOSE 5-0
v Hall 6 LOSE 5-0
v Hall 14 LOSE 5-0

Our scrabble team got off to a great start with a whitewash of Hall 4, but eventually the relative inexperience of our players at IHRG level told as the craftiness and technical superiority of the other Halls proved too much for our team to bear. The remaining 2 fixtures tomorrow will nevertheless provide our youthful team with some much-needed competitive experience that will stand them in good stead.

10 Jan 2014, Friday

Softball M v Hall 3 (Quarter-final)
LOSE 0-8

The scoreline may seem comprehensive, but the game was in reality a much closer affair. Despite more than holding their own in terms of fielding, our softball boys just happened to have a bad day in the office where batting was concerned. Such is the fine line between victory and defeat, that should the game be replayed 10 times, not only would the score difference not be so big, but Hall 2 would probably have won quite a few legs of this hypothetical 10-game series. It was simply one of those days.

On behalf of the Hall, we would like to thank the graduating seniors of Justin Teh, Parthiban Mathevanan, Seow Wei Chung and Darren Poh for their contribution to Hall 2 Softball over the years. Special mention also goes out to exchange student Lukas Deksnys for his involvement over the past semester.

Defeats happen to everyone, but it is from the reaction that the better men are discerned. Softball boys, we sincerely hope that you will emerge from this disappointment as a much stronger team.

Photo Credits: Neo Sian Yin

Weiqi
v Hall 8 WIN 3-2
v Hall 7 WIN 4-1
v Hall 4 WIN 4-1
v Hall 14 WIN 5-0
v Hall 10 WIN 4-1

Our Weiqi team started off with their toughest fight of the day against Hall 8. The win served as the springboard from which we embarked on a 5-and-counting winning streak. Our Weiqi heroine, SiDing Wang, faced Hall 14's strongest player in an uphill battle to clinch our first 5 – 0 victory. Freshmen players Jia Ming and self-proclaimed M7 Nicholas Sim Yi Ming also performed admirably. Despite their relative inexperience in the game, they were able to execute what they learned from their seniors and did Hall 2 proud.

In the words of our legendary star player Toh Honghan "该赢的赢，该输的输". Hong Han, as usual, managed to clinch all his games; he even managed to clear the whole board in one of them. The same goes for Mervyn Lim, Hall 2's very own Weiqi maestro.

Courtesy of Neo Wen Ling

11 Jan 2014, Saturday

Weiqi
v Hall 13 WIN 4-1
v Hall 6 WIN 3-2

Qualified for Semi-finals

v Hall 12 LOSE 1-4 (Semi-final)

Our Weiqi team's winning streak continued with wins against Hall 13 and Hall 6, which meant that they had qualified for the semi-finals undefeated.

There were some pre-match nerves before the game against Hall 13, as they were rumoured to be rather strong players too, but our players comfortably passed this test. In the match against Hall 6, our Weiqi maestro Mervyn Lim played a particularly exciting match against the Hall 6 captain. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, until an unexpected move by the opponent brought about an unexpected result.

In the semi-finals, our team put up a really good fight against our toughest opponent Hall 12. However, we were ultimately no match for this year’s eventual champions. They were truly this year's dark horses, even beating last year’s champion Hall 9.

Hall 12 possessed in their lineup two extremely proficient players, one of which was a national player. Our legendary star player Toh Honghan put up a valiant fight, but it eventually proved a bridge too far. SiDing Wang, Nicholas Sim Yi Ming and Prince of Weiqi Esmonde Tan did their best, with the Prince particularly unfortunate to lose by a very small margin. Ci Ruixiang however did manage to pull one back for the hall.

It was a pity that the matchup for the semi-final did not offer us the best odds for further progress. However, the effort, dedication and skill of our Weiqi team is evident for all to see and for that we congratulate them on their semi-final achievement!

Courtesy of Neo Wen Ling

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