IHG and IHRG Week 4 Updates

It was a long week for our sports and rec players as week 4 was filled with matches. Amidst tears and fears, there were victories and losses alike. Let’s see how we fared this week:

Monday, 7 Jan 2013
We started the week with darts, losing 3 out of 4 rounds played.

Tuesday, 8 Jan 2013
On day 2 of darts IHRG, our darts players made a comeback securing a place in the quarter finals. This position is impossible without hardwork put in by our Darts players. Captain Dong Zheng and key players Kollin, Philip, Shaowei, Tomoko and Queenie thrashed players from Hall 14 and 16 with their great throws! Good job Darts players!

Also fighting on Tuesday were our hall 2 volleyball girls. They woke up extremely early and headed to the volleyball courts for their warm ups. Taking their position on the courts as the shrill whistle broke the morning silence.
Hall 2 volleyball girls gave a display of pure grit and determination, shouting out commands and diving for many balls on the hard concrete court. The first set was extremely drawn out and close. Long rallies were played and points too close to call. There were several debatable calls by the referee. In this battle against hall 7, we lost the first set 28 - 26 and the second 25 - 18.

On the other hand, our Badminton team's emphatic win over Hall 11 and 15(with scores 5-0 and 4-1 respectively) is worth celebrating too! The players: Brian(Captain), Louis, Jie Hui, Theresa, Zhekang and Zhengxian played well and supporters were all hyped up despite the long hours at the matches. Thank you for doing us proud! :D

Wednesday, 9 Jan 2013
Our volleyball girls took on hall 12 in today's match. It was a do-or-die game as they needed to win to keep themselves in the competition.
Hall 12 showed that they were no easy opponents and took the lead initially. However a spirited comeback led by captain Mai brought us back into the game. They were eventually able to come back from behind to win the first set 25-23.
In the second set our girls were evenly matched and the game need 4 deuce before a winner was decided. Our girls emerged as winners with a close victory of 29-27.

Thursday, 10 Jan 2013

Our hall basketball boys had an intensive game against hall 10 this Morning. They had to win the game in order to remain in the competition.
Hall 10 did not show mercy during the match. Luck was on their side where their players could score significant number points from a distance away from the 3 point lines. There was some rough plays during the game and the atmosphere was very tensed as both teams took turns to lead.
However, our basketball boys managed to keep their cool and counter their game play with flexible strategies. The strong support from other hall 2 residents had inevitably encouraged our players to persevere, bringing victory home once again with a final score of 64-52! WE ARE IN THE SEMI-FINALS! :D

Our boggle players took to the rec battlefield today armed with an arsenal of triangle/square word combinations and little known three-lettered words. The team of girls (and boy Kee Xurong) was led by captains Veronica Neo and SiLin Kok. Given our limited training time and lack of experienced players, our team put up a good fight, winning one set against Hall 8 and narrowly losing to Hall 14. We unfortunately didn't make it to the next round. 

Friday, 11 Jan 2013
Our softball team headed out early this morning to take Hall 12 head on. Our softball guys emerged victorious with a score of 9-7 while our girls unfortunately lost to undeniably strong opponents. Team captain Lian Huiting took the lead in the match, constantly reminding our girls to focus and respond fast. However, we faced strong competition from Hall 12 as their team fielded two national players. Despite our best efforts, we lost with a score of 8-2. Although their IH journey has come to a premature end, our girls were gracious in defeat. Take heart ladies, we know you've come a long way since you started out learning the game from scratch and we know you've gained more than you've lost.

Our softball guys took us through a dramatic match of highs and lows. We were off to a bad start prior to the match as our first base Alvin Chin was hit in the face and injured by an oncoming ball. Despite his injury, (OMG OUR HERO) Chin persevered through the five innings with gauze in his mouth, delivering excellent fieldwork. We then hit a lowest point with a scoreline of 7-4, by which time our players were physically exhausted. At this crucial juncture, Chai Ming Long made key observations to shift our outfielders into position, successfully prevention Hall 12 from completing any more runs. From the fourth bottom inning onwards, our team turned things around, hitting our opponents with run after run. Our merciless attack rendered Hall 12 shocked and helpless and turned us into a winner.
Score (Girls): 8-2 Lost
Score (Boys): 9-7 Win
The match today displayed the true grit and fighting spirit of our Hall 2 sportsmen, who showed us that with the mindset of a winner and the resolve of a champion, we can turn things around even when the odds are against us.

Our hero, Alvin Chin!

Our male and female softball players!(: *showing their love for the sport, their team mates and hall 2*

Basketball (F): Our basketball girls were up against a daunting team from Hall 9, boasting a lineup of 3 IVP players. Our girls displayed mettle and a steely resolution not to be intimidated by their aggressive opponents. Team captain Xiaohui Tan kept her game face on, cooly skirting away from aggressive advances by Hall 9. Angela Yap prevented their countless fastbreak attempts with her astounding speed - all our photos of her are pixellated. The girls put up an impeccable defense, leaving our opponents helpless and unable to score despite their relentless attacks.
Score: 45-33 Win
The girls put up an admirable performance today, reminding us that with consistent practice and a determination to win, we can outdo even the best.

Weiqi, on the other hand, is in the running for Semi-Finals as the top Hall in our current group and we are currently undefeated winning ALL of our 5 matches so far.
Special mention to our dark horses:
Freshie Yu Ming who is currently undefeated with 3 wins; almost unheard of for a new player at the game. And senior, Sun Lin Wei also a new player with 3 wins as well. War veterans, Rui Xiang, Hong Han and Esmond, all of whom have at least 3 wins and neither having conceded any of their games so far. Not forgetting our Team Captain, Jason, who is also currently undefeated with 3 wins and Team Manager SiDing who has been our master Tactician in planning our line-up against our opponents.
Our awesome scores as follows:
VS Hall 14: 5-0
VS Hall 1: 5-0
VS Hall 5: 4-1
VS Hall 8: 4-1
VS Hall 4: 5-0

Hall 2, How to lose?!?!

Saturday, 12 Jan 2013
Weiqi: Fantastic news guys, our Weiqi players made it to the FINALS - the first time in 5 years for Hall 2! We won against Hall 3 and Hall 11, putting us through to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, our team faced off against Hall 6 and emerged victorious with a 3-2 score. Unfortunately, in the finals, we were unable to defeat our strongest opponents, Hall 9. Nevertheless, we'd like to give our Weiqi team led by captain Jason Tay a round of applause! Our master tacticians really are the pride of Hall 2.
Scores:
5-0
3-2
1-4

Tennis: Our tennis team did us proud today by winning strong competitors Hall 12 with a scoreline of 3-2. First up was Derrick Koh, up against a strong opponent who played unconventionally, giving our player a very tough time. Derrick was unfortunately unable to win the match. In the mens doubles, Eugene and Dominic, the captain and team manager led by example by thrashing their opponents 6-0. In the women doubles, novice players Jiahui and Weixin were unable to defeat their opponents as they were inexperienced. We ended off with mixed doubles, our players showing absolute dedication - Zilin came straight to the competition after landing in Singapore at 2pm and star player Ziquan came after a day of tiring OMC garang gunk. Despite all this, the pair performed to their best and won 6-2. They epitomize the exemplary sports players, choosing to fight on instead of giving way to exhaustion.

We witnessed the chemistry between Zi Quan and Zi Lin at the match!(:

Sunday, 13 Jan 2013
Sunday is a day of rest for most people but not for our soccer players. They spent their Sunday morning at the fields of Bedok North Secondary School, fighting hard for Hall 2. One of our key player Yen Hao suffered an injury during the match. He was knee-ed in the rib and an ambulance was called to send him to the A&E department. Fortunately, an x-ray shows no fracture. We hope he’ll recover soon.
Let’s get back to the match! The soccer team led by Captain Ming Long fought hard and came to a draw(2-2). However, we lost on penalties(3-2). They were inches away from victory. “Disheartened” would be too loose a term to describe their feelings as we witnessed their hardwork and will to win during the match. They are capable and we are aware of it. I hope the guys will remain strong and never allow this defeat to hinder their future endeavours.

The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle! We will do better next week. Hall 2... Whoooosh!

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IHG and IHRG Week 3 Updates

This week saw a couple of losses for Hall 2, but ended on a high with a double softball victory.

Wed: A dominating performance by our hall 2 hockey boys was lauded by surrounding supporters from various halls. Our boys held hall 1 in their half of their pitch, achieving over 90% possession in the game. Hall 1 jammed all their players in their defensive D in an attempt to stop our boys from scoring. Despite numerous shots, our boys were unable to score a goal. After the final whistle was blown, we headed to penalties. Captain Johnson was first up, but a smart dive from the opponents keeper prevented the goal. Our keeper Wei jie also managed to save their first shot. Next up was Nicholas Tai, a well placed shot into the top left corner left the opponent’s keeper rooted to the spot. Their second shooter squeezed a shot through Weijie’s hands. our last penalty taker was Parthi. Despite our president’s determination, the shot flew wide. Hall 1′s last player placed his shot into the top corner, rendering our keeper helpless. The game ended with a loss on penalties, 2-1.

Hockey captain Johnson giving his all on the pitch.

Let’s applaud our valiant hall 2 hockey boys for their wonderful performance on the pitch. Thank you for playing with all your heart through out the competition . We believe next year will be a better year!

Thu: Our Hall 2 Tennis team faced off against formidable competition from Hall 3 this morning.

http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/574816_468589949845663_36724634_n.jpg
Despite repeated attempts to outdo and outplay the competition, our players were unable to emerge victorious and the game ended with a 5-0 score. Nevertheless, we would like to give our tennis titans Zi Quan,Ziyang, Jia Hui, ZiLin, Queenie, Dominic and team captain Eugene Tang a pat on the back for their dedicated performance on the court today.
Score: 5-0

Volleyball (M): Our volleyball boys faced a tough fight today against an unexpectedly fierce attack from Hall 7. The game saw many highs and lows, with excellent serves from Jordan, and Wei Hong. Yuan Pin, Jiahaoand team leader Wei Hong also made many close saves in exciting over-the-net rallies.



As the match went on, our players grew weary but kept their spirits high, constantly giving one another support and encouragement. Though we lost out with a score of 25-18 and 25-13, Hall 2 is immensely proud of our volleyball team for their unflagging determination to the last minute.
Score: 25-18, 25-13

Luck may not have been on our side but we will come back stronger in the next few matches and thwart the competition under our TWO thumbs.
Fight on Hall 2! Pain is temporary, pride is forever.

Othello: We ended the day with the Othello team, who have spent 9 hours today in a mind-numbing face-off with strong teams from other halls.

Despite hours after hours of concentration and strategy, our novice players of the black and white game were unable to get to the next stage of the competition. We celebrate and recognise their team effort today and we’d like to encourage all our rec players to keep on keeping on.

Fri: Friday was a day of celebration for all Hall 2 residents. Our Hall 2 softball teams clinched a well-deserved double victory in the matches early this morning at Kallang diamond. Our players were up and ready even before dawn broke to take on the competition. I am beyond proud to announce that our girls beat Hall 8 hands-down with a score of 3-1 and our boys thrashed Hall 5 to a landslide 9-3 victory.

The girls were up against Hall 8 first, with Daphne displaying skilled pitching, striking out many players from the opposition.

She shone with her undivided concentration and delivered many good pitches, rendering our competition helpless.

Team captain Hui Ting also led the team on to an undeniable victory with her constant encouragement and her excellent catches.

Elizabeth, Neel and Sok Peng each made crucial catches stopping our opponents from advancing to claim more territory.

The team made three glorious runs by Neel, Mai and Weishan. At the final vital juncture, our woman of the match Mai saved the day, catching the ball with a single outstretched arm.

Mai ended the match to the ecstatic cheers of her team mates and supporters. It was a match well played and deservedly won. Well done softball girls!

The boys were led by pitcher and team leader Zihao to a clean victory against Hall 5.

Though Hall 5′s pitcher was a pint-sized dynamo who delivered many strikes, it simply wasn’t enough of a threat to our boys, who consistently delivered good hits and displayed good catching.

Guozhen made the first home run, to the elation of his team and their supporters. Victor, Dennis and our other softball heroes made several good hits that were vital to advancing our team’s position.

Alvin Chin’s impressive fieldwork also stopped our opponents from advancing further to other bases. Our boys wrapped the game up with an admirable scoreline of 9-3! That’s a total of 9 runs by our softball boys. What a game, what a victory. Hall 2 supporters went wild with excitement once the match came to a conclusion!

Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision - Muhammad Ali

Winning runs in our blood, Hall 2.

Soccer (M): We end the week with yet another victory by our soccer boys! 
Though Hall 6 scored the first goal of the game, our players kept a cool head and soon one-upped the competition. Teo Yu Haoscored from a cross by Brian levelling us with the competition. Kenneth Sim followed with a stunning goal from outside the penalty box. Team captain Ming Long's corner kick was punched into the goal by the Hall 6 goal keeper, bringing our score to a 2-1. The Hall 6 defender then tripped our striker Yan Hao in the penalty box, resulting in a penalty. The penalty kick was made and scored by Yong Geng. Arnold beat the last man and the goalkeeper and scored the final goal of the match, bringing our total score to 5 goals. Though Hall 6 tried to recover with a final goal, it simply wasn't enough to outplay us. It was a superb show of agility and teamwork guys, Hall 2 is proud of you!

Score: 5-2

"The important thing is not winning, it's making everyone else lose."

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