By Ng Wei Chin (14S03D), Aaron Gan (14S05A) and Lu Xinyi (14S06B)
Photos by Noel Chia (Photographic Society)

If you had walked into the Pasir Ris Indoor Sports Hall unaware, you might have mistaken what was really going on for some manner of carnival games. But rather than a dishonor to the sport, that assumption would be more of a testament to the supportive and hyped up atmosphere at the National Inter-school Table Tennis finals yesterday.

Our Raffles paddlers faced stiff competition from traditional rivals such as Hwa Chong Institution. In the three-hour slugfest, our paddlers took the challenge head-on and rallied themselves together to achieve the gold in both the ‘A’ division boys and girls categories.

While the ‘A’ division girls team maintained a steady stream of victories at the beginning of the final, the intense atmosphere eventually got to our players during the fourth match of the ‘A’ division girls final. Having been bested by their Raffles opponents in the first two sets, the Hwa Chong duo took advantage of a series of unforced errors by our paddlers to take the third set 11-4. Should HCI have come back from behind to win the match, they would have claimed the title then. However, the Rafflesian duo of Wan Yu Quan and Xu Han Zhen came back from the time-out, invigorated, to win the match 3-1.

Mr Ng, the teacher-in-charge of Table Tennis, told us: “Hwa Chong fielded their strongest players to play the first three matches, as teams only have to win three of the five matches to claim the championship. But their star players only won two, so when it came to the fourth match, it was our time to shine.”

The girls eventually edged out HCI 3-2 to win the championship.

The ‘A’ division boys had it easier. Kerry Tan’s singles match ended quickly in sets of 11-6, 11-8 and 11-4. The duo of Julian Woo and Ansel Lee went toe-to-toe with their opponents before triumphing in the end, topping off the 3-0 defeat of HCI. Julian explained that the victory was especially sweet as Ansel and he had been doubles partners for the past six years, and this victory marked the conclusion of their successful partnership.

In the second singles match, Bryan Teo put up a strong performance and beat his opponent convincingly. At one point he was leading 8-1. He said that, as captain of the team, he was elated as this was their final shot at the championship, and they managed to bring their years of training to fruition.

What was heartwarming about the finals was the unmistakable team spirit and passion that showed through every member of the team. Mandy Wong said, “We wouldn’t have made it if the boys weren’t there to help us at every juncture of training.” Mr Ng praised the team for their ‘superior teamwork’, describing how everyone used to stay in school till 8 PM to practise. An external coach, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she was very impressed with RI’s team spirit.

There was also a strong showing of alumni at the stadium, specifically the old Rafflesians from the Raffles table tennis team. Though they could not physically contribute to the team, their strong sense of care and concern for the players and the school boosted the morale of the team. Mr Goh Bun Hiong, captain of Raffles Table Tennis team of 1988, commented on the thrashing in the ‘A’ division boys final: ““I think the results speak for themselves.” On the nail-biting finish for the girls, he said, “That was the one that could have gone either way.”

Of course, who is to forget the relentless efforts of our dear match supporters, student councillors  and allocated classes alike? Year 6 councillor Daniel Tung noted, “The energy levels were very high and the cheering was electrifying. Every bit of cheering helps the players at every stage of the match.” While that may be true, HCI had equally if not more energetic supporters who, from time to time, drowned out the rest with their remarkable cheers. What was even more impressive were the louder and more spirited cheers by the students in red, brown and white despite their disadvantage in numbers. This is not to discount the concerted efforts of our Rafflesian supporters, but inter-school rivalry extends to match support too. And while we took home the ‘A’ division titles this time, it was probably Hwa Chong who won in cheers and spirit.

But if there was anything that distinguished this table tennis final from all others, it was really a string of superlatives that marked the event. Our ‘A’ division boys delivered the biggest and fastest defeat of their opponents in any of the finals, and our girls triumphed in one of the most unpredictable and back-and-forth matches ever, even though their third singles match was probably the most comfortable win of the day. In the Year 1-4 camp, the ‘B’ division boys shocked everyone with their  explosive victory celebration when they trampled over the barriers to embrace the victorious last singles player.

That being said, this was an all-Raffles affair, with the juniors from Raffles Institution Year 1-4 and Raffles Girls School doing the school proud as well. Team Raffles eventually captured five of the six team Gold trophies on offer, after being featured in all six finals.

So yes, it was a case of ordered chaos, and some of us were disappointed, cheering could have been better too, but behind that was the silver lining of a Rafflesian victory, and ultimately it was Team Raffles who won the day.

Photos and words by Mathew Gan (14A01C)

“Allez.”

The impassioned cheers from the crowd are abruptly silenced as the fencers raised their sabres. A pause. Everyone is frozen in their places, eyes focused on the two glinting weapons. They clash.

Roars of victory erupt from the Rafflesian spectators present as sabreur and girls’ captain Christabel Yong punches the air in triumph. The Raffles Fencing team has just swept away their third individual Gold, sweeping, in the girls’ division, the Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals, as well as the girls’ A-division team first in the National Inter-school Championships.

It was not that this year’s competition made it easy for our girls. Every school present put up a good fight, especially Hwa Chong Institution, who were stout opposition for our fencers. In the finals, for Foil, Sabre, and Épée, the girls faced a Hwa Chong counterpart in each, but they were able to push through all the way, coming out top in all three matches.

The last match of the Inter-schools was especially rousing. The scores are neck to neck, the penultimate score by Hwa Chong resulting in a heart-stopping equalizer at 14-14. This last hit in the nationals would decide who won the last Gold of the year. The two competitors take in deep breaths to calm themselves before the conclusive crossing of blades of an intense match, which finally ends with Christabel winning through a decisive strike on her opponent’s sword arm. The match has been secured. She salutes her opponent, the referee, and the audience by raising her blade’s hilt to her chin, then punches the air in firmly, spirit unyielding. The team cheers all the while from the sidelines.

Said Christabel after the competition, “Since the start of the competition, I had been quite nervous and had felt that I was under-performing, even up until the finals. What really helped me was fellow fencer Melvin and our coach, Mr Oleg, pointing out my mistakes and telling me how to correct them, what I should do when facing a certain opponent, and so on. Also, the huge amount support that the fencing team gave me really inspired me. To see them cheer so enthusiastically pushed me to do my best, and to exceed that best.”

“I also think that this Inter-schools made me feel really inspired by my teammates. During the competition, I could really see each and every one of them fight hard for every point. Even if they were down, they didn’t give up. They all trained really hard for this competition also so I’m really happy to see them fence with all their strength.”

The sense of camaraderie within the fencing team extends to the J1s as well. Clara Chong, who attained a Bronze in the Foil weapon category, said that she was honoured and proud to be part of the team. “It’s the fighting spirit within the team that’s important.”

Thalia Lee and Fan Jin both won Gold for their weapon categories, Foil and Epée respectively, while Clara Chong and Denise Fu brought home the two Foil Bronzes, and Tan Tze En an Epée Bronze. For Fan Jin, the last two bouts were difficult, reason being partly because both were friends that she trained regularly with.

“During the finals against my friend from another school, having the whole school team and our coach supporting me really pushed me to keep on fighting because it wasn’t just about me and my friend fencing, it was about doing my best for RJ fencing. I think that’s what was essential to everybody’s performance during Inter-schools, as in we were really one team, always encouraging and motivating each other, putting in our all into the competition to do our school proud.”

Thalia had an easier time, winning all the matches by a clear margins up to her finals, which she won 15-7.

The boys’ team sadly did not do so well in comparison, but were still able to bag a Bronze in the Sabre weapon category.

Said Xie Debin, boys’captain, “It was really tough for us this year as our team was not the most experienced in the competition. But we worked hard throughout the one and a half years we had and do not regret the outcome.”

He praised Tze Yang for exceeding expectations though.

“Although he was lagging behind in the match, he shouted to motivate himself after scoring a point. I am sure the audience all felt it as it was intense. Tze Yang lost to the first seed in the semi-finals, but he still put up a strong fight nonetheless.”

Tze Yang himself is ever so humble, saying that he “can still improve his score.”

What your reporter gathered was that there is general consensus that the competition was really exciting this year. Both Mr Teo, teacher-in-charge of fencing, as well as national team fencer Jerrold agreed that this year’s matches have been genuinely interesting.

All in all, this year’s competition from Raffles can be summed up with a line from girls’ captain Christabel: “No reserve, no  retreat, no regret.” And that was just what they did.

For detailed scorings, please visit http://sssc.schoolsports.sg/fencing/download for the Results .zip file.