ACS (I) win historic first gold in A girls’ squash

SINGAPORE – Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) won their first A Division girls’ squash title at the National School Games (NSG) on Tuesday – thanks partly to a lucky bowl of ban mian (noodles).

After beating Raffles Institution (RI) 4-1 in the preliminary round, a cool and collected ACS(I) team rose to the challenge again in the final at the Kallang Squash Centre on Tuesday, notching another 4-1 win over the same opponents.

They also had a little help from player Natalie Ho, who stuck to her pre-game ritual of eating ban mian before the final.

“On game days, I have a very heavy meal before the game. Today my teammates were questioning why I was having noodles in the morning,” said the 16-year-old, who recently started training with the national team.

”It gives me the energy needed to play the match.”

On the win, she added: “We weren’t intimidated by them and we came in with the mindset that we can win and will win.”

ACS (I) got off to a roaring start, with Natalie defeating Lee Jae Yan 11-2, 11-0, 11-4, before teammate Gracia Chua beat Isabelle Koh 11-1, 11-4, 11-1. 

Supporters from both schools created an electric atmosphere at the Kallang Squash Centre, constantly cheering their players on at every break.

In a wonderful display of sportsmanship, ACS (I) students even cheered for the RI team after the second match.

RI then returned the gesture after the fifth match, cheering for their rivals and congratulating them on their win.

With two games in the bag, it looked like ACS (I) were about to cruise to victory, until RI’s Vicky Lai threw a spanner in the works by snatching a point for her team with an 11-4, 11-1, 11-4 win over Lauren Heng in the third match.

But there was no stopping the ACS (I) girls as they secured the next two points via Swetha Sivakumar and Aaliya Abuthinin, who notched victories against RI captain Joy Ong (11-3, 11-2, 11-2) and Tan Kai Han (11-0, 11-2, 11-1) respectively.

Vicky, 17, said: “It felt really good because it gave us some hope to keep going. We were 2-1 down but it didn’t mean that we would completely lose the entire competition. We just kept fighting.

“We’re all very proud of our result.

“The whole process itself has been very gratifying, seeing everyone give their best and the fact that they have dedicated so many hours just working for this.

“Even if we didn’t get the gold medal this year, we’ll get it next year.”

Aaliya, 17, was delighted with her first NSG gold, noting that she “really couldn’t have done it without my teammates”.

ACS (I) coach Victor Koh, 60, who has been coaching the school’s teams since 1997, said: “They did very well. When we saw the line-up, they felt very confident and they all performed their best to win this title.

“It’s always a happy feeling to win the first gold, and we’re looking forward to more to come.”