St Joseph’s Institution clinch first C Div tennis title in 36 years

SINGAPORE – After hitting the winning point that sealed St Joseph’s Institution’s (SJI) first C Division tennis title in 36 years, Gareth Kong remained composed, barely revealing any emotions.

The overwhelming feeling was one of relief that he had won, marking a significant moment for himself and the school.

Just a year ago, Gareth was left dejected after missing out on a spot in the tennis team for the National School Games.

But that setback only motivated him to work harder for his place.

The opportunity came in 2025 and he delivered at a crucial moment, with his 6-2, 0-6, 6-1 win over ACS (I)’s Malcolm Foo in the deciding match capping SJI’s 3-2 victory on Sept 1.

He said: “I’m very grateful that I was given the opportunity to play because I wasn’t last year. This year, my coaches trusted me and they gave me the chance to win it for the team.

“I’m also very thankful to my teammates who helped all of us clinch the title.

“I was dejected (to miss out in 2024) but I put in hard work in training. I just have to persevere and keep on training and don’t give up, even if there are setbacks like if you lose a match.”

At the Kallang Tennis Hub, SJI went ahead as Takuya Kaneko and Asher Sandhu beat ACS (I)’s Leon Ho and Ryan Tang 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) in the first doubles match.

Defending champions ACS (I), who had won the last five titles, drew level as Matthew Tay defeated Ng Shen Wei 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, before SJI pulled ahead as Raphael Goh edged out Jude Leung 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

With SJI needing to win just one more match to end their title drought, all attention turned to the remaining singles and doubles matches.

In the second doubles, ACS (I)’s Keon Koh and Theodore Bailey Belcher defeated Elias Siirtola and Lim Yan Teng 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, which left everything resting on the final singles match between Gareth and Malcolm.

After a strong start in the opening set, Gareth lost the second 6-0 and doubts began to creep in.

But words of encouragement from his coaches helped him bounce back in the third set. While leading 3-0, it dawned on him that SJI’s hopes of ending their title drought hinged on his shoulders.

“I was just focused on trying to stay consistent, giving more height to my balls so they can drop in and just grinding out every point,” said the 14-year-old after seeing out the two-hour match.

SJI coach Tan Xu Teng, who came on board in 2025 with fellow coach Gary Tan, praised Gareth’s resilience, noting that he had not come through the Direct School Admission route.

He said: “It was sheer grit and grind, but this boy has the biggest heart.

“We came in, put certain process in place and through that whole process, we were able to discover he had a special talent within him.

“It wasn’t about the technical (aspects), not about the prettiest strokes, but it was the will to win.”

Captain Takuya, 13, said: “It’s been a long time and we trained a lot, so I’m very happy that we won.

“I played last year and it was kind of disappointing. But this year we’ve worked very hard, we did our best and we got it.”

Reflecting on the overhaul that led to this triumph, Gary said: “The boys were open to all the upheavals, all the changes.

“We had a pretty deep squad that we had to trim down and everyone came on board, worked hard... with the support of the teachers, it was good to see some success here.”

While it may not have been the desired result for ACS (I) captain Keon, he believes there are positives to take away.

The 13-year-old said: “I’m definitely not happy, but I’m satisfied because we tried our absolute best – we gave it all that we could to push hard.

“It was a good opportunity and we will definitely grow from it and come back stronger next year.”