Dear readers
It was a very long and stressful day today. I got in just after the finish of the first game against SA.
WA has traditionally won easily against SA. Except this year, they had a family of 2 boys and a girl migrate to SA. They should have migrated to WA so that WA has a better chance against NSW and Vic. They also had one girl who represented Australia in the world junior masters and two other girls that played under the Australian flag in international competitions. In contrast two of our girls are 14 years old, and another one who is in her first State Team competition. Our boys though were stronger than their boys. It looked like that the match would come down to the Mixed Doubles. Will our girls hold up when it came down to the Mixed doubles? Would our boys be able to hold off the onslaught?
Kai Chen and Jasper opened the accounts for WA with an easy 2 set win.
We then went down to SA in the girl's doubles. Bella and Gerimay were also no match for Khoo and Liu who both play for Aus.
We were now 1/2 behind. It was then up to Xiang and Tyz to go head to head against K Edison and Tristan Edison , the 2 brothers. Tyz and Xiang won the first match easily at 21/14. We thought the win would be in the bag. SA came back with a resounding 21/13 win after mistakes from WA.
Things were getting desperate.
As Andrew was busy with the other match, Himanshu our Badminton WA CEO stepped in to coach these two, no doubt telling them to buck up.
With cheering from the WA families, they managed to get the 3rd set at 21/11 much to the relief of everyone especially Jillian and Andrew.
We were still head to head 2 -2.
Tyz then went against David Sun. Tyz had a very slow start trailing most of the way but finally finishing off at 21/18 to our relief. He was just too complacent. He quickly finished off the 2nd set at 21/5. We were now 1 up on SA, at 3-2.
However, Teigan Lawrence then had to play J Liu. Despite giving everything, Teigan went down in 2 close sets. She gave everything she had. We are proud of her . She did Geraldton proud.
Silvi then went in next against J Wu. She lost the first set at 9/21 and things looked bad. She came back strongly to get the 2nd set at 21/16. Things were looking up for WA. However, there was a problem of Silvi's asthma. I have never seen her play 3 sets. She told me later that she asked for her puffer but the umpire refused her request. Silvi went down in the 3rd set but can hold her head high.
Her 3rd set may make the difference when it comes to points.
WA was now 1 point down at 3-4.
Xiang went next to bat for WA. He had a great start with 9-0 and finished strongly at 21/8 and 21/13. No problems for Xiang.
We were back even against SA 4 -4.
Gav then started his singles against E Krstic who has improved substantially. Gavin also started slow giving us some concern. He picked up the pace and finished off strongly at 21/10 and 21/15.
We were back ahead by 1 pt. Gerimay then played L Khoo. Geri was overpowered by the older Khoo in 2 sets. However, Geri can look forward to a good competition in the coming under 15s.
We were back even again at 5-5. What a roller coaster. The supporters were going crazy. I started looking for empty shuttles cartons for the supporters to make more noise.
Got told off by some of the managers and Jiten for taking the cartons and leaving the shuttles. What the heck, I had a job to do. Must support WA.
Bella got on next against Malvika. Bella trailed all the way and it was looking bad again. If Bella wins one of the girl's matches, we may get a clear point here. She was totally there for WA. I have never seen Bella so animated before: screaming and raising a fist whenever she won a point. Will download video of her screaming later. What a sight.
She got to 23/22 and a shot of SA went out but Silvi said it was in, giving SA another chance at deuce. We were now at 23/23. Then 24/24. Then 25 all. Each point was cheered loudly by supporters, parents and siblings and each deuce was granted with a collective groan. Bella finally finished the game at 27/25. The 2nd set was won by Bella at 21/15. The score does not show the emotion that the WA supporters went through.
What it doesn't show too is that Bella was in pain with blisters in her right foot. What a trooper!!
WA was now 1 ahead again at 6-5 and if Titus could hold on, we would get a clearer lead.
Titus gave everything but could not hold off Keith Edison going down in 2 sets. The 2nd set was close at 18/21 but it was not to be. We are now at 6 - 6.
We were back equal against SA. The high performance WA manager looked like she was close to having a heart attack.
Gavin and Amanda then went against David Sun and J Wu. The first set was close at 21/19 for WA. This is the first time they have paired up in this competition. It took Amanda some time to find her groove. The stress is getting to everyone. Amanda and Gavin then settled down, played some good rallies and won the 2nd set at 21/15. Whew, this was a much more comfortable win. We were back ahead by 1 pt at 7 - 6.
Xiang and Silvi then played Tristan Edison and Malvika. We lost the first set at 20/22. WA fought back at 21/10. Could WA ride the 2nd set win to a 3rd set. The supporters were going crazy. I had already lost my voice from Sunday.
Xiang and Silvi could not manage a 3rd despite trying everything finally going down at 19/21. It was so close.
Silvi had given everything her body could give. Irma and John should be proud of her. Xiang as always, gave his best and more.
We were now at 7-7, with a one set margin.
It was now down to Tyzton and Bella to play E Krstic and J Liu. Bella and Tyz had never partnered before throughout the whole comp. In fact as Bella is a singles player, she is not comfortable playing mix doubles.
How was this going to go? They trailed most of the way but broke away when their opponents were at 16 points to win at 21/16. The SA team was not giving up. Tyzton and Bella partnered together beautifully, getting stronger and faster, finishing the 2nd set at 21/11.
At this point, we were at 8 -7, with a three set margin.
This win meant that we had finally won even if the last mixed was lost. The Manager decided not to tell the team until it had been confirmed. She also wanted the last pair to play their best, win or lose.
Titus and Julia went on next but lost in 2 very close sets. We were now at 8-8.
It was down to the managers to count and recount the games. WA finally emerged the winner by just 1 set in a 8/8 draw. WA were evenly matched with SA but because we lost a couple of games in three sets instead of two, it made all the difference.
What a great relief.
Photos will be downloaded after my dinner.
 |
| Our jubilant manager holding up the score sheet |
What has to be realised is that this is a very young team playing against much stronger and older opponents. Andrew and Jillian has done well to train and discipline them into this fighting force with Titus as the captain.
They only won bronze this time, but a lot of the players have quite a few years to compete in the Under 19s again. This is a very young team but what courage and what fighting spirit. There were no ego or drama or theatrics from any of these players, they just got on with the job. They are a credit to their parents.
The parents should all be congratulated. The supporters also need to be thanked. Special mention need to go to Jasper Tan's family, the Teoh's, the Wan clan and their screaming supporters. Even Lily Leong took time off from her studies to scream for WA.
- South Australia (SA): [8-7]| Time: | Tue 7/8/2014 10:00 AM |
|---|---|
| Draw: | CP Maddern Trophy - Finals |
| Score: | [8-7] |
No comments:
Post a Comment