The semi-final match at the College Sport Badminton Championships was a thriller, with Clive squaring off against his opponent from Botany Downs Secondary College. Clive trailed by a few points at the mid-game interval but clawed back into the game in the second half and went neck-and-neck until the score was 30-30. His defence and pressure eventually forced an error by the other player to win the last point and book his place in the final.
The top player in the tournament proved too much for Clive in the final. He gave the Westlake Boys High School lad a good run for the title, with many intense rallies during the match. He eventually went down in straight sets 21-18, 21-14 and settled for the silver medal.
Our Sancta Maria A1 Badminton Team of Ryan Kuang, Oscar Ng, Henry Hoh, and Clive competed in the Senior Boys Singles event of the College Sport Auckland Badminton Championships held at the Auckland Badminton Stadium. It was a tough tournament where our boys faced-off against the top Under-19 players in the country.
In Group A, Ryan found himself in the midst of the second- and ninth-ranked players in the country and two Auckland Reps. He managed to get decent points off them, and in some rallies was able to put pressure on them, but eventually went down against strong and very experienced athletes.
Oscar and Clive were drawn into Group B, where they are joined by the third-ranked NZ player and two club reps. Oscar gave them a good fight but had to concede all his matches. Clive finished on top of the group unbeaten to secure his spot in the semi-finals. His notable win was against the NZ no.3 and Counties Manukau U19 champion to whom he had narrowly lost to three weeks ago.
It was familiar territory for Henry in Group C, playing against some of his former Auckland Rep teammates. Henry placed third in the group winning two of his four matches.
Over-all, it was a great experience for our boys, one that will surely help them in their bid to win the Term 3 Auckland Secondary Schools (Wednesday B Open) tournament. Congratulations to all of them for their great effort and a job well done.
