ITE College East, Thursday, 8 January 2009 – It was an interesting match as Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) went against ITE College (ITE) for five games of badminton, singles and doubles. Both teams displayed commendable sportsmanship and tenacity. Yin Xi from NYP and Nur Azureen from ITE were first up for the singles game. Azureen displayed strength in her hits while the younger Yin Xi matched up with the strokes with her speed. The NYP player gradually gained the momentum of the game and started to smash more towards her opponent's side. In a bid to tire her rival, Yin Xi returned the hits fast and strong. It was clear that Azureen could not catch up with the pace of her opponent and was defeated. In a relatively quick game, NYP won against ITE in the first singles match with the scores 21-6 and 21-16.

Yin Xi says, “Actually I think that my opponent was rather injured today. So she was unable to play to her full capability. I hope she recovers soon.”

Next was the doubles game. Both teams showed powerful smashes. The ITE team was the first to score points with NYP playing catch up. The ITE doubles team then seemed to lose their tempo and kept fumbling. With numerous unforced errors, ITE kept hitting the shuttlecock into the net, losing vital points. NYP played on their strength and continued to rally on with accurate smashes. The two NYP players, Irene Tam and Yeo Liceheng displayed great synergy with each other. The NYP doubles team also swept the victory, winning both sets with the scores 21-10 and 21-12.

Rachel Ho, who played for the doubles game for ITE remarks, “We could have done better. I guess we were rather nervous. There was a lot of expectations and pressure on us.”

The next game was singles. With the players from both teams evenly matched, ITE almost stole a win during the second set but NYP still earned the victory with the scores 21-15 and 23-21. Winning three different games, NYP was the clear winner already, but in the name of sportsmanship, they played on. The next doubles games were scored 13-3 and 10-13, both led by NYP. The final singles game was scored 10-21 and 13-21, also led by NYP.