Friday, December 30, 2011
Write-up by Carrom Captain, Sarah Wan:
Held right before Christmas Eve from the 21st to the 23rd of December, Carrom was the 3rd IHRG to be played this year. Being a seeded hall and having entered the semi-finals for at least 3 years running, the Carrom team set out during this IHG with a very specific target in mind: to break the monotony of dropping out during the semi-finals by entering the finals.
The team fielded this year was a relatively strong one, with seniors on the team who had at least 1 year of experience at the previous year’s IHG. We were also very fortunate to be blessed with both hardworking and talented freshies, who picked up the game quickly and showed great promise before the competition. Training during the weeks leading up to IHG were tough and grueling (our vice-captain, Zhiliang, ensured that this was the case) but the spirit of the Carrom team players proved to be even tougher.
The first two days of competition were done in round-robin style, where our hall had to face 7 other halls to earn a spot in the semi-finals. The halls in our group were no pushovers, with some having surprisingly strong players in their teams. Despite this, our hall managed to beat these dark horses and we breezed through Day 1 by beating Hall 13 (4.5-0.5), Hall 15 (4-1), Hall 7 (4-1) and Hall 1 (4-1).
The team continued its winning streak during the games on Day 2, where we beat Hall 10 (5-0) and Hall 11 (4.5-0.5) respectively. Then came the highly anticipated game against another seeded hall: Hall 3. Previously, during IHRG 2010, Hall 3 emerged as Carrom champions after facing off against Hall 9. The games this year, however, proved to be in our favour as we beat Hall 3 (3.5-1.5) and eliminated their chances of entering the semi-finals. We finished Day 2 at the top of our group, having lost to none of the other 7 halls.
The semi-finals and finals were scheduled on Day 3 of the games. There were only 4 halls remaining at this point in time: Hall 9, Hall 14, Hall 15 (the only hall that was un-seeded) and Hall 6. We were pitted against Hall 14, who was 2nd in their group. The hour before the competition was nerve-wrecking as Hall 14 had a clean scorecard during the round robin, losing only to Hall 9 during the last match of Day 2. However, our team held out as we won both our singles tables and managed to pull two of our doubles tables to a draw, beating Hall 14 (3-0). This meant that we were through to the finals, a breakthrough for the Hall 6 Carrom team!
Although we eventually lost to Hall 9, our team gave them a run for their money by putting up a good fight, winning 1.5 tables and putting a mark on Hall 9’s previously clean record of (5-0)-ing every hall they played. Their team had many experienced and skilled players, and although the odds were stacked against us, the matches were played with good spirit and sportsmanship.
All in all, the Carrom team clinched the silver medal. Even though we may not have gotten the gold, it was groundbreaking nevertheless. To the team: I am proud of every single one of you, and I’m sure Hall 6 is too.
The team fielded this year was a relatively strong one, with seniors on the team who had at least 1 year of experience at the previous year’s IHG. We were also very fortunate to be blessed with both hardworking and talented freshies, who picked up the game quickly and showed great promise before the competition. Training during the weeks leading up to IHG were tough and grueling (our vice-captain, Zhiliang, ensured that this was the case) but the spirit of the Carrom team players proved to be even tougher.
The first two days of competition were done in round-robin style, where our hall had to face 7 other halls to earn a spot in the semi-finals. The halls in our group were no pushovers, with some having surprisingly strong players in their teams. Despite this, our hall managed to beat these dark horses and we breezed through Day 1 by beating Hall 13 (4.5-0.5), Hall 15 (4-1), Hall 7 (4-1) and Hall 1 (4-1).
The team continued its winning streak during the games on Day 2, where we beat Hall 10 (5-0) and Hall 11 (4.5-0.5) respectively. Then came the highly anticipated game against another seeded hall: Hall 3. Previously, during IHRG 2010, Hall 3 emerged as Carrom champions after facing off against Hall 9. The games this year, however, proved to be in our favour as we beat Hall 3 (3.5-1.5) and eliminated their chances of entering the semi-finals. We finished Day 2 at the top of our group, having lost to none of the other 7 halls.
The semi-finals and finals were scheduled on Day 3 of the games. There were only 4 halls remaining at this point in time: Hall 9, Hall 14, Hall 15 (the only hall that was un-seeded) and Hall 6. We were pitted against Hall 14, who was 2nd in their group. The hour before the competition was nerve-wrecking as Hall 14 had a clean scorecard during the round robin, losing only to Hall 9 during the last match of Day 2. However, our team held out as we won both our singles tables and managed to pull two of our doubles tables to a draw, beating Hall 14 (3-0). This meant that we were through to the finals, a breakthrough for the Hall 6 Carrom team!
Although we eventually lost to Hall 9, our team gave them a run for their money by putting up a good fight, winning 1.5 tables and putting a mark on Hall 9’s previously clean record of (5-0)-ing every hall they played. Their team had many experienced and skilled players, and although the odds were stacked against us, the matches were played with good spirit and sportsmanship.
All in all, the Carrom team clinched the silver medal. Even though we may not have gotten the gold, it was groundbreaking nevertheless. To the team: I am proud of every single one of you, and I’m sure Hall 6 is too.
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