St Nicholas badminton girls are North Zone champions!

BADMINTON

North Zone ‘C’ Division
St Nicholas Girls vs Xinmin Secondary
Thursday, 22 February 2007, at Marsiling Secondary

Match Report by Coach Dick Yip. Pictures by Leslie Tan. © redsports.sg/soulbreath pictures

At stake in this encounter was the coveted right to be called the North Zone ‘C’ Girls Badminton Champions 2007. On the adjacent court, another battle was looming – the fight for the 3rd and 4th placing between Anderson Sec and St Joseph’s Convent.

The battle commenced in the 1st Singles with the captains of both the teams facing each other across the net. It could have been a strategic move by both teams to play their respective captains in the opening match, or sheer coincidence. Winning that first point would be a great psychological boost to the leading team, and a mental dampener for the trailing team.

Karen Sim of St Nicholas Girls

Karen Sim of St Nicholas Girls took on Tong Jia Le of Xinmin Sec in the 1st Singles. The opening minutes saw both girls playing jittery badminton, with numerous errors forcing multiple changeovers of service at 3-1. The more nervous Tong then committed 3 consecutive errors, mainly overhead drops that did not clear the net, to give Karen a 6-2 lead. A deceptive cross net flick that left Tong stranded made it 7-2. Tong then regained service and executed a sudden high drop which caught Karen out, 3-7. But the momentum was not maintained. Regaining service, Karen forced her opponent into a few more errors to lead 9-3 with a deft backhand net flick. Tong, sensing the danger of losing the first game tried a powerful smash that went out,10-3. At game point, Karen opted for a low serve which went into the net. In the next rally, she regained service with a perfect drop. Changing tactics, she opted to serve high but was met with a killer smash by Tong who collected the next point with an exquisite net shot, 10-4. But Karen played a nice cross-court drop that her rival failed to reach. Serving again for the game point with a high serve, Tong replied with an attacking clear that was way out, surrendering the game to Karen at 11-4.

Tong Jia Le of Xinmin Sec

The 2nd game turned out better for Tong as she raced to an 8-1 lead mainly through the impatience of Karen who wanted to finish the game off quickly and in the process committed numerous unforced errors. Tong, realising that she had to win this game to force a rubber, took control of herself and her rival by moving Karen around the court, and mixing her attacking and defensive shots effectively to surprise her. After she regained serve at 1-8, Karen forced her rival into two errors at the net, bringing the score to 3-8. But Tong kept her cool and went on to take the next 3 points and win the game at 11-3.

With a game in hand each, both girls played cautious badminton in the early exchanges of the 3rd and final game. At 1-1, service changed hands 7 times before Tong missed an overhead drop to allow Karen to lead 2-1. Tong won the next point when Karen lifted the shuttle ‘half court’ for a grateful Tong to kill it off. With the score tied at 2-2, neither player could impose her authority as service changed hands for a record 9 times! Then Karen won the next point to make it 3-2 with a neat net return. Showing that she too could do the same, Tong won the next rally with a delayed net push. Score 3-3. The ding-dong battle continued unabated till 4-4, where service changed hands 4 times. Then Tong hit a lob out and a killer smash by Karen moved the score to 6-4. At this point, the players crossed over for the side change. With renewed vigour, Karen set up her opponent for 2 killer smashes bringing the score to 8-4. Sensing the danger, Tong dug in tenaciously, taking the next point with solid defending, 5-8. Part two of the ding-dong battle saw service changing hands 9 times again, with neither giving an inch. Then Karen played a sharp drop which Tong could only lift half court. Bang….and the score was 9-5. With a superb net flick, Karen moved to game and match point. Staring at defeat, Tong summoned her reserves once more. Service changed 4 times before an error by Karen moved the score to 6-10. Another error at the net made it 7-10. Then Tong served high and Karen, risking everything, went for a cross court smash which was out of Tong’s reach. Serving again for the match, she teased her rival with a high serve. Tong fell into the trap by smashing into the net, bringing this titanic, thrilling and hard-fought match to an abrupt end. Overall score: 1-0 to St Nicks.

St Nick’s doubles pair of Jia Xin and Jordana

The next match was the 1st Doubles between Jia Xin / Jordana (St Nicks) versus Jolin Nai / Chua Jia Yun (Xinmin). This was a battle Xinmin had to win after the initial loss. In the 1st game, the two pairs fought point-for-point to reach a 6-6 scoreline, both sides making numerous unforced errors. Combining better after this, the St Nicks pair took control of the game by increasing the tempo and showing superior attacking play to take the next 6 points at 12-6. They raced to game point at 14-7 when Xinmin smashed out but could not capitalise on it. Xinmin won the next 3 points through nervous, error-prone returns by the St Nicks pair for a score of 10-14. Winning back service, the Jia Xin and Jordana wisely kept their cool, concentrating on making safe returns in the final rally, which ended when their rivals tried an audacious cross backhand net flick which just missed the top of the net. 1st game score: 15-10 SNG.

Xinmin Sec’s doubles pair of Jolin Nai and Chua Jia Yun

The 2nd game saw the two pairs fighting it out closely for a 3-3 scoreline in the early stages. An unexpected lack of concentration by the Xinmin pair allowed St Nicks to take the next 6 points to 9-3. Smelling a victory, the St Nicks pair piled on the pressure with fast attacking play forcing their rivals to concede the next 4 points to 13-4. Xinmin awoke from their slumber to take the next 4 points to 13-8. On regaining service, St Nicks served high but the reply was an attacking smash that went out. Gamepoint 14-8. St Nicks served, the shuttle went nicely over but landed in the wrong court. Xinmin had their last service hand but could not make headway. The inevitable end came when St Nicks executed a fast drop which neither of the Xinmin girls could retrieve. Score 15-8.

With the overall score of 2-0 in their favour, and on the brink of winning the coveted title, a confident Toh Ying Xian (St Nicks) strode onto the court in the hope of clinching the winning point for her school and teammates. Facing her was her dispirited opponent Ng Shi Yao (XMS) in this 2nd Singles match. On Shi Yao’s shoulder was the extra burden of knowing that she was carrying all her teammates’ hopes and dreams into the battle – a burden that proved too heavy and made the match uneven from the start.

Toh Ying Xian of St Nicks

Ying Xian easily took the 1st game 11-3, with confident play. After a short breather, a completely demoralised Shi Yao surrendered the 2nd game and match 11-0 to Ying Zian. Whoops of joy came from the St Nicks bench as they realised they had won the title!

Editor’s note: Congratulations to St Nicks! Xinmin girls – try again in the Nationals!