Injury blow can't stop Hwa Chong's 2 in a row

School sports

- Samuel Tan

When Joelle Chee injured herself in training before the National School Games (NSG) A Division girls' badminton semi-finals on May 6, a sense of dismay swept through Hwa Chong Institution.

The school's hopes of retaining their title suddenly appeared in peril, given her status as a national team player who had won the BWF Iberdrola Spanish Junior Open in March.

"I did a jump smash and when I pushed off (the ground), I tore my heel muscle," the 18-year-old recalled. "I'll be in a cast for one to two months."

Despite the setback, Hwa Chong rallied and went on to beat Nanyang Junior College 5-0 in the semi-finals.

And on May 8, her teammates again rose to the occasion by defeating Eunoia Junior College (EJC) 3-2 in the final at Choa Chu Kang Sports Centre to seal back-to-back titles.

Sonia Pho got Hwa Chong off to a bright start, beating Chloe Jng 22-20, 21-17 before the pair of Li Zheng Yan and Qiu Yuxi defeated Eleanor Chan and Nikita Pratap 21-13, 24-22 to extend their lead.