By REDintern Shermaine Lou

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 — Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) beat Raffles Institution (RI) 3-1 to retain the National A Division Girls’ Table Tennis Championship.

As schoolmates cheered their players on enthusiastically from the stands, the first singles game saw Chau Hai Qing of RI sweeping to a 3-0 victory over Tay Hui Yi of HCI.

RI’s first doubles pair of Zhou Lingyue and Sherilyn Tan were up next and they took the first set off Patricia Lu and Chen Dan of HCI.

However, the HCI pair were not to be beaten so easily and they put up a fierce comeback, winning the next three sets win a point for their team.

With the overall score now tied at 1-1, the competition started to get more intense. With the pressure on both players to perform, the 2nd singles saw Wang Yingchao of HCI taking her team one step closer to the championship title with a 3-0 win over Lim Yihui of RI.

The 2nd doubles match saw Yee Simin and Luo Na Na of HCI with the upper hand in terms of confidence and momentum, knowing that winning this game would enable the team to win the match.

Although Choo Mun Lin and Lam Jinghui of RI put up a strong fight to pull level at 10-all during the 3rd set, Simon and Na Na closed out the final set 12-10 to help HCI claim the championship title for the second year running.

In the B Division final, Raffles Girls’ School beat Cedar Girls’ Secondary 3-0 to win the title.

Results
RI vs HCI
1st singles: Chau Hai Qing 3 Tay Hui Yi 0
1st doubles: Zhou Lingyue and Sherilyn Tan 1 Patricia Lu and Chen Dan 3
2nd singles: Lim Yihui 0 Wang Yingchao 3
2nd doubles: Yee Simin and Luo Na Na 0 Choo Mun Lin and Lam Jinghui 3