Sports

Commentary, Sports

Defending the Gold: Squash Girls’ Finals 2019
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Shervon Lee (19S06A)
Photographs courtesy of Koh Jia Hao (20S06M) of Raffles Photographic Society

As the students strolled into Kallang Squash and Tennis Centre on the 30th of April, they were greeted by the sharp thuds on the walls. With practiced grace, the squash girls continued their warm-ups, hitting the ball at length along the wall. Soon enough, the referees took their seats in the middle of the stands and the girls filed out of the court, glowing with sweat and determination. In the silence that followed, the first player Eda Lee (20S03Q) held her racket up. With a swift stroke, the ball was served, and the championships were in play.

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Commentary, Sports

Swimming for Glory and Gold: Swimming Finals 2019

Reading Time: 4 minutesBy Clara Shen (20A01A), Gabrielle Ng (20A01E), and Jermaine Wong (20S03R)
Photos courtesy of Raffles Photographic Society

With High Hopes by Panic! at the Disco blasting in the background, the atmosphere at the OCBC Aquatic Centre is lively but tense, as competitors and spectators alike anticipate the sounding of the starting signal. It is the fifth day of the National Schools Swimming Championships, and our swimmers are preparing for their final face off against fierce contenders from other tertiary institutions.

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Commentary, Sports

Throwdown of the Year: 2019 Judo Finals

Reading Time: 12 minutesBy Phang Yeu Yeou (19A01A), Benjamin Liew (20A03A), and Tay Jing Xuan (20S03C)
Photographs courtesy of Raffles Judo and Raffles Photographic Society

The anticipation in the dojo was electric as spectators and competitors alike geared up for the A and B Division bouts of the 2019 Judo National School Games Finals. Throngs of eyes and ears turned themselves onto the mats, as spectators pressed themselves against every free inch of space along the fences to better take in the action, while the judoka restrained themselves to occupying just one side of the mats.

And what a spectacle it was! Raffles Press brings you inside each athlete’s personal journey through the sport, in order to give you the rundown on the thrilling throws and takedowns of this year’s finals.

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Commentary, Sports

Sparing No Effort: National School Games Bowling Championships 2019

Reading Time: 5 minutesBy Coco Liu (20S06L)
Photographs courtesy of Chee Yun Hui Julia (20S03D) from Raffles Photographic Society

It is easy to mistake bowling for a low-intensity sport. After all, compared to other sports like badminton or track and field, bowling is played at a much slower pace. There aren’t any furious sprints or rapid rallies–just a player, a ball, and ten pins.

To not rectify that misconception here and now would be to do an enormous disservice to the sport. Indeed, as schools all over Singapore congregated at Orchid Country Club on 23 April 2019 for the second and last day of the quartet event (with the singles and doubles events already over) of the National School Games Bowling Championships, the tension in the air was palpable.

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Commentary, Sports

The Winners Take It All: Table Tennis Finals 2019

Reading Time: 8 minutesBy Benjamin Lim (19S03I) and Ng Ziqin (20S03H)
Photos by Benjamin Lim (19S03I) and Megan Toh (20S03N) from Raffles Photographic Society

The Raffles spectator stands were a sea awash with students in house shirts. They were cheering, they were screaming, they were waving green/black/white inflatable clappers. The Student Councillors and RI Y1-4 prefects, clad in green, were leading supporters in the more popular (and more memorable) school cheers like Raffles Dynamite and Say Ra. Vibrant white lights glared down from the high ceilings, sharpening the technicolour reds, blues, blacks and greens of the players’ uniforms. The atmosphere felt charged, crackling with an energy that verged on visibility.

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