Raffles claim A Division Boys’ Badminton Championship title

Story by REDintern Chin Chi Hua. Photos by Marvin Lowe

Jurong East Indoor Sports Hall, Tuesday, May 26, 2009 – Raffles Institution beat Jurong Junior College 3-1 to claim the A Division Boys’ Badminton Championship, making it a sweep of both of the girls’ and boys’ titles.

Shawn Tan of RI faced Kim Byung Duk of JJC in the first singles match. A memorable rally between the two saw almost 60 shots exchanged before ended with the point going to Byung Duk. This did not dampen Shawn’s spirits and he ended up winning 21-15, 21-13.

The first doubles saw similar results when Daniel Lim Ping Hao and Wayne Goh Wen-Ti of RI prevailed over Jiang Hong Jun, from JJC, and Tan Choon Guan, captain of JJC badminton boys team. Several successful kills from the RI pair made Hong Jun and Choon Guan defenceless even as they gave their best. Daniel and Wayne won 21-11, 21-16.

In the second singles, Aloysius Tan of RI faced Chen Yi Ming from JJC. The first set was a close fight and kept the spectators at the edge of their seats, with Yi Ming taking it 23-21. Aloysius fumbled a few times in the second set, and finally gave Yi Ming the second set 21-13.

Trailing 1-2 overall, JJC now needed to win the second doubles game to stay in the championship hunt.

It was a breath-taking match between Daryl Wong and Law Jia Hao of RI and Francis Rathinam Charles and Jiang Hong Bo of JJC. Francis and Hong Bo displayed superior teamwork and worked well enough to hold off the RI duo 21-13 to win the first set.

The JJC supporters cheered by chanting the players’ names, providing them much-needed encouragement. RI supporters did not disappoint. Despite being smaller in numbers, they were equally matched in terms of spirits. The second set saw the RI duo making a comeback to win it 21-11.

The crucial set was excruciatingly long, as both pairs were almost equal in skills and tactics. As the set drew to an end, the JJC pair caught up to tie the score at 20-20. It turned out to be the start of the seemingly never-ending entanglement of both pairs, as both pairs wanted to win the match desperately.

Even with JJC leading 26-25, the RI pair did not relent. A JJC teacher was overheard to comment that this was a value for money match given the excitement and tension.

The closure finally came as RI took the set 28-26 to secure the seventh consecutive championship for RI.

Shawn Tan, captain of the RI boys team, had confidence from the start that they could win.

“We had the pressure to win as I felt that we were a better team. We just did our best and performed to standard,” he said.

A Div Boys Badminton:
1st- Raffles Institution
2nd- Jurong Junior College
3rd- Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)
4th- Anglo Chinese Junior College

A Div Girls Badminton:
1st- Raffles Institution
2nd- Jurong Junior College
3rd- Meridian Junior College
4th- Victoria Junior College

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