Xinmin win first championship title; Montfort topple rival to be crowned champions

By Lee Hwee Cheng

Catch highlights of the finals in Episode 11 of RedSportsTV.

Jurong East Sports Hall, Monday, April 23, 2009 – It was double whammy for Singapore Sports School (SSP) at the National ‘B’ Division Badminton Finals on Monday afternoon when both the boys’ and girls’ teams fell.

The boys team lost to another badminton giant, Montfort Secondary, and the girls to new-kids-on-the-block, Xinmin Secondary. Sports School lost both match ups eventually lost 2-3.

For Xinmin Secondary, the unassuming new champions, it was sweet, sweet victory.  Not only was it the first ever National final for the girls, it was also their fourth encounter with Singapore Sports School this season.

They had lost their three previous encounters against Sports School.  Having only gone as far as the quarter-final in last year’s National tournament, this year indeed marks a leap of achievement for the girls.

It must have been a tough journey for the Xinmin ‘B’ girls, both mentally and physically, having already lost three times to their opponents – twice in the North Zone tournament, and once in the National quarter-final this year.

But the girls obviously came to the Final with the will and determination to overcome all mental blocks and prove themselves once more.  Perhaps the very fact that they had already earned themselves a berth in the final was sufficient to boost their confidence to a new level.

With that extra boost in morale, Xinmin started the match looking all ready to fight and give their all for their final showing of the year. 

Despite losing the first point when SSP’s Samantha Neo beat XMS’s Jacinta Koh 2-0 (11-1, 11-9) in the first singles game, XMS fought back to an overall 2-1 lead.  Catherine Lim and Nicole Lin, the first doubles pair of XMS, ousted SSP’s Tan Wei Han and Cherie Cheong 2-1 (16-17, 15-6, 15-12) after falling in the first set to a tie-breaker. 

The cheers that resounded when the Xinmin pair won this game was testimony to how psychologically important this point was to Xinmin. XMS’ second singles player, Pisitpong Tanapat then went on to beat SSP’s Thng Ting Ting in 2 straight sets (11-3, 11-6).

In the second doubles game, however, SSP proved they were indeed no easy opponent to beat when Noriko Goh and Toh Siew Fen cruised to a 2-0 (15-7, 15-6) victory over XMS’ Shinna Lim and Beverly Tee.  With the overall score now tied at 2-2, it was down to the final and deciding singles game for both sides.

With quiet confidence in her eyes, XMS’ final singles player, Thitirat Triyachart finished off her opponent, Mok Jing Qiong, in 2 straight sets (11-1, 11-5).  It was at this moment that the Xinmin supporters and the team on the bench broke into a frenzied celebration.

Well done, and congratulations, Xinmin!

On the other side of the hall, the atmosphere was a little more tense, both between the players on court and amongst the supporters on the bench and all around the hall.  The Montfort crowd had come in bus-loads and took up more than half the spectator gallery space.

It must have been heartwarming and morale-boosting for the Montfort team to see that many of their school friends travel all the way from Serangoon to Jurong East, but after all, who would want to miss yet another face-off, especially the very last and deciding one for the season, between undoubtedly two of Singapore’s badminton giants?

It was a final where both teams took turns to prove their prowess and gain an overall lead over the other – Singapore Sports School won both the doubles games, but Montfort took home, more crucially, all the three singles games, bagging the Championship trophy as a result.

In the first singles game, Montfort’s Christian Yahya Christianto cruised to a 2-0 (15-8, 15-7) victory over SSP’s Lenny Tan.  But SSP quickly levelled the game, though not without a scare in the middle of the game, when Tan Kia Hwee and Jeffrey Wong fought through three sets to beat Montfort’s Lim Chong Yong and Hong Wei Tian 2-1 (15-4, 10-15, 15-12).

Andrianus Prasojo Adi, the second singles player for Montfort, gave his school an overall 2-1 lead when he ousted SSP’s Koh Jia Yi 2-1 (7-15, 15-3, 17-14).

In what was probably the most entertaining game of the final, Andrianus overcame a sluggish start, trailing all the way in and eventually losing the first set, and bounced back with a crushing 15-3 win in the second set.

In the last set, which at one point seemed never ending, both sides took turns leading the game, with Jia Yi powering ahead at 10-4. Andrianus caught up at 10-10 with six quick points, and from then, the score difference never went beyond two points. 

Andrianus never held back in his smashes and exploited his opponent’s weaker points and eventually sealed the win in a tie-breaker.

SSP regained their composure and their chance at the championship in the second doubles game when Tang Kirt Soon and Tan Wei Zhi Shawn beat Montfort’s Nattapol Limpanawut (Boo) and Alfred Setiadi 2-0 (15-11, 15-12). 

But all it took was Montfort’s final trump card in the last singles games to douse that championship dream for SSP.

Congratulations, Montfort!

Agrippina Primarahwanto Putera, looking all calm and composed like a silent killer, sealed his game in 2 quick sets (15-2, 15-10) over SSP’s Aloysious Tan.