Dorita Peng (left) and Tan Yi Ting (right), both 17, could not repeat their fine showing from Wednesday, when they trounced Mongolia. --ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
SINGAPORE have been eliminated from the Asian Youth Games girls' beach volleyball competition, after losing 11-21, 11-21 to Indonesia at Siloso Beach, Sentosa this afternoon.
Dorita Peng and Tan Yi Ting, both 17, could not repeat their fine showing from Wednesday, when they trounced Mongolia.
The pair also lost 13-21, 15-21 in their preliminary round match against Kyrgyzstan in the morning.
Said team captain Dorita: 'I guess we didn't concentrate well during the match, and we hesitated in a lot of our returns.'
Coach Teo Chiek Shan felt that the duo also could have communicated better on-court, something that he felt led to their victory against Mongolia on Wednesday.
He said: 'They did not communicate much with each other today, and I think they also gave themselves too much stress.
'But it's not all loss. They've gained experience that helps them to learn and know what's expected during competition.'
There was cheer for Singapore, however, in the boys' camp.
Melvin Goh and Qing Shan took their preliminary round match against Saudi Arabia 21-18, 15-21, 15-12. They finished the preliminary stage as Group B runners-up.
'Our opponents had to play another match before meeting us, so the plan was to make them run around the court to tire them out,' said Qing Shan.
'We definitely played better on Thursday, even better than when we beat Japan on Wednesday.'
This, despite being the target of the Saudis throughout much of the match.
He said: 'They probably thought I was weaker at receiving, so targeted most of their shots at me.'
Teammate Melvin, 17, said: 'We just had to find a way to keep our morale high, and to play consistently.'
The boys meet Oman on Thursday morning in an elimination round.
