ITE College East, Wednesday, 14 January 2009 - National University of Singapore advanced to the final for women’s badminton at the 2009 Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic Games, defeating Temasek Polytechnic in three straight sets yesterday.

The team from National University of Singapore proved to be the stronger opponent, leading the game 21-5, 21-8 in the first single; 21-5, 21-12 in the first double and 21-7, 21-15 in the second single at ITE College East.

Temasek Polytechnic’s Shakina Bte Ahmad put up a strong fight against National University of Singapore’s Siti Mastura Bte Rahim, whom swift and powerful smashes often caught Shakina out of position during the second single, not leaving her ample time to recover.

Vertical elevation also gave Siti Mastura an advantage over Shakina.

“Generally, my height is an advantage as players have to push me to the corner in order to make the shot out of reach for me,” Siti Mastura said.

Despite the win, the team felt that more training is required to defeat their greatest rival, the team from Nanyang Technological University.

“For the finals, we need to step up to our game, as NTU is the defending champion, that is if NTU make it through to the finals today,” she said. “The pressure would be immense.”

For Temasek Polytechnic, the aim of the game was not about competing for a place in the finals.

“In fact, we were just hoping for a good draw today. Our aim was to get into the semi-finals and my girls did not let me down,” said Mr Wong, coach for the Temasek Polytechnic women’s badminton team. “We achieved what we have come to achieve.”

Nanyang Technological University won the last championship in the Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic Games.