The day's breakfast was made up of left overs from the BBQ.
Andik, our assistant coach is down with a sore throat from too much shouting.
The morning started out well. Jazton had an easy run against Budisiletio in the 3rd round of the BS. Jaz is now in the quarter finals for the BS which means his ranking is at least 7/8. He easily won 21-9, 21-15. For once, he did not give his mum any stress.
Titus lost to Matthew Tan 17-21, 21-23. The last game was so close but Titus could not make it.
Edmund won easily against A Yuen in the plate at 21-10, 21-6.
Tyzton was unable to beat K Patil in the singles despite fighting hard. His temperament to kill instantly makes it harder for him to play singles.
Edmund easily won Benjamin Han 21-5, 21-3 in the BS Plate.
Olivia won Siobhan Dang 21-8, 21-14 in the GS Plate.
Alexandra also won her plate event easily at 21-9, 21-4.
Phing Teo beat Joanne Au 21-18, 21-18 after a hard fight.
Olivia beat N Rattan 21-14, 18-21 and finally 21-7.
Tyz and Olivia survived a 3 setter against Enoch Chu and Wynne Chen. It was a close fight and they came in from behind. This was despite Tyz accidentally hitting the shuttle against Olivia's forehead. They lost the 1st game at 21-19. They came back on the 2nd at 21-12. The last game went to the wire at 21-23.
Their 2nd doubles game against Calvin Lai and Claudia Lam was easier. They won in 2 sets without any drama at 21-14 and 21-12. They outplayed the team with easy drops and positioning. Their partnership seems to be getting stronger despite Olivia being the quiet one.
There was then a photo break where the following great pics were shot.
Some of the top players of the competition. They are all good looking too. |
The boys trying to squeeze as many heads as possible on a pillow. |
Jaz Edmund and Guda |
Whose bum is that? $20 to the winning guess. |
Could this 2 pretty girls be tomorrow's top 1 and 2 seed? |
The epic game for the day was Phing against the Victorian No. 1 player Joy Lai. The 1st game was won by Joy. Phing fought back with great courage to win the 2nd set. The final game was a thriller that got the crowd cheering for Phing and WA. Phing came from behind 18 to get to the lead which then see sawed till Phing finally close the deal. I could see Suzanne her mum, pacing the court with her heart beating rapidly. She might get high blood pressure like my wife.
Jaz's quarter final was also a thriller. He won the 1st set after coming from behind. The 2nd set went to deuce so many times, my heart gave up. Austin from NSW finally won the point to get to a 3rd set. Despite all Jaz gave, he was not able to get the 3rd set.He did me proud with the way he fought all the way. One of the NSW coaches commented to me that Jaz had great fighting spirit.
Jaz and Phing then played their mixed doubles game. Unfortunately they lost in 2 sets. Jaz was visibly upset as he expected to do better.
I got upset seeing him upset.
The quiet achiever has been Olivia. She won her game in a three setter with no ceremony. She is now playing for the plate.
Alexandra gave her best to fight against a stronger player but had to concede. She was upset but has shown strength of character in all her games. Her mum should be proud of her.
Olivia and Tyz are playing well and were at 11-4 at midpoint in their mixed doubles when I was blogging.
I was sitting beside the girl opponent's mother and she was giving all sorts of advice. You can feel all the nervous energy from the mother.
Tyz and Olivia won the 1st set 21-13. Why do parents go through what we do, feeling every pain and joy of our children from just a game?
These kids have made me so proud in how they have played every day.
The game was finally won by Tyz and Olivia at 21-11.
After the game, we went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate. The meals were expensive but the kids deserved it for all the true grit they have shown. Courage and determination, much more than what one would expect from children their age.
They have endured pain, tears, all of them, including the parents and especially myself.
They have also enjoyed friendship, laughter, comraderie, joy and sorrow. All part of growing up but packaged in a 1 week box.
You ask yourself why we make the these kids go through all these emotions. I believe it is character building, it builds up their respect for sportsmanship and their abilities. It brings the parents and children closer in a bond, having shared the ups and downs of competitive or social sporting challenges.
Tomorrow, Phing will be playing in the semi finals of the GS. She had to get some cupping from Annie to prepare for tomorrow.
Can you hear Phing screammmmming |