The strength and conditioning gym at the EWBIS block is filled to the brim nearly every afternoon with different groups of fitness-oriented Rafflesians. Besides the various sports CCAs utilizing the gym facilities for training purposes, the gym also sees a sizeable number of Rafflesians with different fitness levels, pumping iron and working out together, ranging from the complete gym newbie to the seasoned muscular jock.
Commanding this assortment of students in the gym is the gym instructor, whose role is essentially to oversee the students’ safety and discipline when utilizing the machines and facilities in the gym, as well as to guide and advise students who have questions or difficulty with certain gym exercises. Raffles Press recently conducted a one-time interview with the gym instructor here in Raffles, Mr Jason Lim, to gain insight into the perspective most Rafflesians often overlook, and for those who do not frequent the gym, a perspective they are completely unaware of.
Photographs by Yany Chan (15S06E) and Sharmaine Toh (15S07C) Raffles Institution’s Chinese Language Drama and Cultural Society (CLDCS)’ annual production, 翠谷回响: 雾中人 (meaning ‘Man in the Mist’) was held on 15 May this year to a resounding turnout. The production showcased 3 member groups of their CCA: drama, songwriting, and calligraphy; drama and songwriting members performed their works during the concert, and calligraphy members displayed their works outside the PAC.
The production opened with a play, 雕像 (Sculpture), which was told from the perspective of an unnamed Greek statue in a museum. One day, to the statue’s utter confusion, he found himself alive and possessing the qualities of a normal human being. Desperate, alone, and with no one to seek help from, he wandered the streets countless times to seek answers to his existential distress, including the reasons why he came alive, how he should live, and who exactly he was.
Two of the three statues in the museum.
The play evidently struck a chord with audience members, who gave a resounding round of applause for all the actors once it had concluded. While the action initially moved rather slowly, and relied heavily on short scenes to drive it, it gradually built up towards the centre of the play, when the plot twist was revealed: the other two statues in the museum were, too, alive. There were several scenes which required the three statues to stand still on wooden display blocks, and one can only imagine how difficult it must have been for the actors. This sentiment was echoed by Chairperson Jia Zhuo Jian (15S06H), who played one of the statues. He shared that standing still for such a prolonged period had been a “challenge”, as it was “not easy to maintain one posture for long”.
Zhu Deng performing “感动不是爱情”.
Next up was the song segment, which saw Zhu Deng (16S07D) as the opening act. His original song, titled 感动不是爱情 (Feeling Touched Is Not Love), was poignantly delivered to convey the message that feeling touched by someone’s actions is not equivalent to loving them. One just needed to listen to the music to feel the emotions he compellingly brought out through the soulful music and impressive vocals. Later, he shared that he “took some of his personal experience to recreate a scenario that fits the song” — which was done to great success.
Six more original songs were performed throughout the concert, but several were unfortunately marred by out-of-tune vocals. Yet the hard work and effort put in by all the CLDCS song-writing members was clear, especially since some of them did not have prior music background — Zhu Deng commented that his “limited” music background made his song-writing journey “fun, but quite challenging”.
A 15-minute intermission was followed by a unique performance, 五句话 (Five Sentences), which required the five actors to come up with a short play within 30 minutes, based on 5 audience-contributed sentences which had been collected before the intermission. The five sentences were random and at a glance unconnected, including sentences like “I want to drink milk tea” and “I killed him!”, leaving audience members anticipant to see how the actors would weave them into the play.
The actors skillfully made use of actions and facial expressions to drive the plot, with minimal reliance on lines. With wit and humour, the actors successfully weaved in the 5 sentences such that they flowed effortlessly with the plot, drawing loud chuckles from the audience every time a sentence was mentioned. One of the five actors, Yin YiRan (16S06S), candidly shared that “五句话 is definitely not something for the faint-hearted”, given the “high pressure” on the actors! She noted that “something so impromptu as 五句话 is really a test on the actors’ teamwork, creativity, and ability to think fast”, and that she “enjoyed it a lot even though it was very challenging”.
Tension between father and son.
Following that was the last play of the night, entitled “红芝麻”, or “Bloody Sesame” in English. It explored the tension between pursuing wanton materialism and interpersonal relationship satisfaction from the perspective of a teenage schoolboy. Influenced by his peers, he developed an intense yearning for the latest iPhone model, which his family was regrettably unable to afford. His doting father, not wishing to let his son down, toiled day and night to earn sufficient money for the iPhone — but eventually, died from overexertion.
Unfortunately, the writer of this article felt that her proficiency in Chinese (or rather, the lack of it) significantly impeded her ability to fully comprehend the goings-on of the play, which was a true pity as many audience members seemed extremely tickled by it, roaring with laughter at the many humorous parts. Audience member Li Jia Xin (16S07D) reflected that the most memorable part of the play to her was when the schoolboy realised that “the most important thing in life is not to prove yourself to other people, nor to fulfill your material desires, but rather to appreciate what you have, and live your own life well”, as it was a moment that “deeply inspired and touched” her. Another audience member, who wished to remain anonymous, commented that the play should have a “more Singaporean context, as its China-based context resulted in some audience members not understanding the jokes told”.
CLDCS team, post-production.
Post-production, CLDCS’ Chairperson Jia Zhuo Jian (15S06H) reflected that he was “very proud of CLDCS’ members”. He shared that although “most of the J1 members did not have past experience of stage performance”, they still managed to put up a “really remarkable job”. Overall, CLDCS put up a commendable production, which captivated and enthralled the audience with the various art forms put up. Raffles Press would like to commend CLDCS for a production well-done, and wishes them all the best for their upcoming endeavours!
By Daphne Tang (16S03M), Lex-xis (16S03M), Stella Soon (16A01C)
Photos by Nicholas Chang (16S03K)
The view Mr Pheng sees every day.
“Uncle, one bowl of bak chor mee, please!”
We hungry students know that R5 noodles is the place to go for comforting bowls of warm porridge or sumptuous, springy noodles, but how many of us know about the history of the store and the background of the vendors? In conjunction with Appreciation Week, Raffles Press conducted a one-time interview with Mr David Pheng and Mrs Chan to find out about a perspective we rarely consider – the one behind the counter.
By Gladys Lim (16S03K)
Photographs by Hee Xin Wei (15S03I) and Gabrielle Jeyaseelan (15S06A) of Raffles Photographic Society
Raffles Netballers huddle with River Valley Netballers after the game.
Raffles entered the last game of their season unbeaten, but not complacent. Despite the clean sweep of their last 7 games, the team had trained hard and stayed dedicated this year, and the fighting spirit blazed in each one of them that afternoon on 22 May, as they readied themselves for the pivotal match of their season. The final match was against River Valley High School (RV), whose team had been credited for making it to the finals with only 9 players, and to boot, had clinched victory against tough opponents from Hwa Chong Institution. But in spite of this, the Raffles team was determined to put on the best fight of their season.
Once the match commenced, RV started off with the first centre pass, but a missed catch by their team’s Goal Attack (GA) coupled with a quick pick up by our team’s GA Tessa Wong, and an accurate shot by Goal Shooter (GS) Isabelle Belanger put our team ahead of their opponents. This boosted the Rafflesian team’s morale and steadied their play. Jeimin, who played in Centre position, provided good support for the team with her effective leaps and considerable reach. Timely runs and good flow on the attacking side allowed the team to take a comfortable lead of 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Wing Attack (WA) Freda Mah in a leap to catch the ball.
In the second quarter, our team’s defence increased the intensity of our play. Good coverage by our Wing Defense (WD) Yvonne Goh, enabled Goal Defense (GD) Rukimini Roy and Goal Keeper (GK) Ayshath Zaseela to intercept and make turnovers for the team. Our tight defence cut off RV’s offensive path, making it tough for them to advance their attacks. The pressure led to a held ball that gave Raffles possession. Nearing the end of the quarter, GD Rukmini Roy made a dash out of the goal circle for an unexpected interception from their opponent’s Wing Attack (WA). The second quarter concluded with Raffles putting in 17 shots and RV putting in 5 shots.
Goal Shooter (GS) Isabelle Belanger taking a shot.
Entering the third quarter, Raffles continued their lead but RV did not give in. A long lob into their goal circle was successfully shot in by their GA. Yet, we stayed alert and WA Freda Mah was able to make an interception and score. The shooters and mid-court players communicated well during a smooth trade of passes between WA Freda Mah and GA Tessa Wong. They were assisted by Eyu Yan Yan, who took the court as a Centre. She displayed keen foresight and made quick runs into free space. Tessa Wong also executed swift movements in the goal third with GS Isabelle Belanger who helped put in shots. With a score of 42-19 in favour of Raffles, the quarter drew to a close.
For the last quarter, the coach substituted some players in to give all the team members an opportunity for court time and to experience the adrenaline on court. Nadia Quek took on the position of GA and scored an accurate shot a fair distance away from the goal post. Natalie Rodrigues who entered as a WD also put up a good show with her skilful deflections and interceptions. On the defensive side, GD Grace Tay made some powerful jumps against her opponents in the goal circle. Geraldyn Leong played as WA and did exceptional feeding of the ball to the shooters, ensuring that the opponent’s defenders could not challenge the ball. River Valley on the other hand, made conservative short passes to put in 8 more shots. The game ended with a score of 52-29 to Raffles, securing our girls a triumphant victory.
To the spectators, the competition faced by Raffles Netball may have seemed insignificant – judging from their seemingly easy victory. But they undoubtedly faced much internal pressure to succeed. For this season, the team’s regular coach, who had been out due to the upcoming Southeast Asian Games, was substituted by a former national coach, Mr Goh Seck Tuck. Tessa Wong (15S07A), Captain of the Raffles Netball team says, “Coach was very serious, dedicated and experienced. He was straightforward, and expected only the best from us, yet was understanding of the struggles we went through. He has taught us to fight against the odds, and helped us to enrich our capabilities, such as by challenging us [through giving] new drills.” Indeed, their coach had impressed the beauty of overcoming obstacles not as one, but as a whole, upon the Netball team. For everyone, it had indeed been a memorable season as each had a unique takeaway and renewed passion for the sport, especially after constant and tiring – but meaningful – trainings to amp up for the match. There was one thing the team would be sure to remember: the sky’s the limit. Every process determines the outcome, and indeed it was a well-deserved championship title for Raffles Netball.
A very proud Raffles Netball team.
List of Players:
Ayshath Zaseela, Isabelle Belanger, Grace Tay, Natalie Rodrigues, Freda Mah, Eyu Yan Yan, Geraldyn Leong, Rukmini Roy, Tessa Wong Ting, Yvonne Goh, Tang Jeimin
By Shikhar Gupta (15S06M)
Photos by Shikhar Gupta (15S06M) and Choo Shuen Ming (16A01E)
Right from the very start, this had been RI’s game to lose. Having defeated ACS (I) in the group stages previously, the mood was buoyant in the pavilion of an RI victory. Even then, ACS (I) showed an initial spark of fighting fire as the first four balls saw three boundaries off Vinay Gupta’s (15S03J) spin. Not much happened after that, with ACS(I) generally restricted to a run-rate below 6 runs per over (RPO) – a par score for the ‘A’ Division level – and wickets falling at a steady rate.
Following the 12 runs conceded from the first over, ACS (I) found the spin-pace duo of Vinay and Himanshu Kubal (15S06G) difficult to hit, and lost their first wicket on the first ball of the 3rd over to a sharp catch at slip by Vivek Tadikamalla (15S06M). Even with the fast outfield aiding them, the boundaries for ACS dried up, leaving them with just a single boundary outside the six fours that the openers shared between them.
RI’s wicketkeeper Harish Thiyagarajan (16S03F) runs out the last ACS (I) batsman on the final ball (Photo: Shikhar Gupta)
RI did have lapses of concentration in their fielding, with a missed run-out, two dropped catches and a couple of overthrows, but the tight bowling kept the runs from bleeding and the wickets falling. Eventually, ACS (I) were bundled out for 88 runs, losing a wicket to a run-out on the last ball.
Striding out to bat, Ameen (16S06M) and Kaushik (15S06G) plundered 20 runs off the first over with three 4s and a 6. The next over saw another 16 runs, and by 2.4 overs, RI had brought up their fifty score. Balls were continually peppered down leg-side by the ACS (I) bowlers, and the fact that they were short of length just gave Ameen and Kaushik every excuse to send them screaming over the leg-side boundary.
Ameen plays a shot on the leg-side (Photo: Shikhar Gupta)
Occasionally, ACS (I) bowled deliveries on the middle and off-stump, but the deliveries hardly gave the RI openers any trouble, with Ameen clobbering one ball over cover for 4. There were also a few deliveries stopped well by point and short third man, but it hardly did anything to stem the tide of runs. By the end of the fourth over, RI had been blasting away at 14.75 RPO, and the required runs had fallen to a mere 20 off 96 balls.
Sixes were aplenty in the RI innings, with Kaushik blasting the first one off the second delivery he faced, pulled strongly over fine leg. Ameen did not hold back either, with a strong pull giving him his first 6 of the day. The poor ACS (I) bowling also conceded 15 extras, propelling RI even more quickly towards the 89-run total.
Throughout the match, Kaushik was firmly in control of the RI innings, and provided a steady anchor with ones and twos. Over at the other end, Ameen unleashed a flurry of attacking strokes to bring up his 50 in just 20 balls, reaching the landmark through two consecutive sixes on the leg-side. There was a minor bit of drama, as the ball could not be recovered after one of Ameen’s sixes. This situation, coupled with the impending rain, raised fears that all of RI’s efforts would be for naught if the game was washed out with just 7 runs to win. Soon after, play resumed, but after bringing up his 50, Ameen defended the next four balls to give Kaushik the chance to hit the winning runs.
In a bit of an anti-climax, ACS (I) managed to claim the wicket of Kaushik on the first ball of the 6th over as he tried to slam the ball over long-on, but found himself clean bowled. It was a wicket for ACS (I), but a completely inconsequential one, for the game ended two deliveries later with a bye.
RI displayed complete dominance, in both bowling and batting. Deservedly, Kaushik and Ameen were the stars of the day, scoring 74 runs and taking 6 wickets between them. Even the coach was effusive in his praise, calling their performance “splendid”.
The team poses for the post-match photo (Photo: Choo Shuen Ming)
Even with his brilliant innings, Ameen was modest after the match, pointing out that “doing it for the team is more important than the individual achievement”, but added that all his shots were being pleasantly hit by the middle of the bat, allowing him to race to 52 off 20 balls.
As the rest of the team strode onto the pitch in a boisterous manner to celebrate, Kaushik had tears in his eyes and hugged Ameen tightly, citing the fact that in the past few seasons he had “let [the team] down, and this [game] was a good send-off”. Evidently, his plan to bowl dot-balls to build up pressure had worked very well and had snared him 4 wickets.
Sidanta Gunasinghe (15S03K), the Captain of the RI team, gave credit to ACS (I) for putting RI “on the back-foot right at the start” with 12 runs off the first over. However, he showed faith in his bowlers’ ability to “take on any opponent” and was rewarded handsomely with all ten wickets.
The game was a one-sided affair, but had plenty of action to satisfy neutrals and the RI support. For a team to be cruising at a run rate just below 17 RPO is tremendous any way you put it, and it is now up to next year’s team to pick up the mantle from where it has been placed. The win is even sweeter as it sees the title return to RI after the loss last year. In the meantime, let’s congratulate the RI side and join them in celebration.
Final Scoreline RI 89 for 1 (Ameen 52*, Kaushik 22) beat ACS (I) 88 all-out (Santosh 15, Kaushik 4-16, Ameen 2-18)
