OxBridge Games 2007: Squash

Oxbridge squash was played at Trinity college, Oxford. The court was of normal size and had a solid wall instead of a glass wall. There were 2 matches, 1 male and 1 female. The male match was played between Kuhan (Cambridge) and David (Oxford). Kuhan won in a straight set. The female match was played by Angie (Cambridge) and Chiau Ling (Oxford). Chiau Ling won in a straight set. Standard tournament double dot squash ball was used. Angie sustained a minor injury during warm up but recovered soon after. Both matches proceeded without any problems. Overall result was a draw.

Written by Kuhan Venugopal

OxBridge Games 2007: Netball

The Oxbridge 2007 Netball match was certainly intense and exhilarating. As the last game of the day, and scheduled to start at 2pm, we were disappointed with very persistent heavy rain that just wouldn’t stop. At 3pm, we decided we couldn’t wait any longer and the teams from both sides plus a crowd of wonderful supporters braved the rain and headed out to St Hilda’s college netball court. Barely enough time to warm up, (the referee was keen to start and end early because of the rain!), we kicked off with Cambridge having possession of the ball. The first half was very close with Rachel and Ashvina (Goal Shooter and Goal Attacker respectively) putting up an immensely consistent performance. Our defense was saved by the star Goal Defender Sue Mae who throughout the game made many brilliant interceptions, along with Goal Keeper Shireen and Wing Defender Intan. Halfway through the first half, we substituted in Joyce as Wing Defender. Our Wing Attacker Suet Voon was the heroine! Despite muscle cramps, she insisted on staying in the game, making great passes between our defense and attack. At half-time, we were leading by a close margin of 4-3!

In the second half of the game, the same team of seven entered. The rain seemed to persist but it didn’t stop either side from putting up a great fight. Amidst muscle cramps, Suet Voon was substituted in by Vivien and both teams played on. Cambridge scored a few more excellent goals. With great catching of the rebound, our GA and GS remained calm and highly accurate, scoring another 3 points that would make any Cambridge supporter proud. Unwilling to sit by and watch, Suet Voon made a fierce come-back, boldly walking into the court and insisting on resuming her WA position. We were leading 7-4 but Oxford went on to score another 3 points. After a well-fought game with great defending, scoring and clean, long passes, the referee finally blew the whistle and victory went to Cambridge, with the final score of 7-6! This win was also the deciding point for the overall position of the Oxbridge Games 2007 as before netball we had won 2, lost 2 and tied in 1 game.

The netball team consisted of the following players:

Angie – C
Ashvina –GA
Intan – WD
Joanne –GS sub
Joyce – WD sub
Rachel – GS
Shireen – GK
Sue Mae – GD
Vivien – WA sub
Voon – WA



Written by Angie Kua

OxBridge Games 2007: Badminton

Having waited restlessly in the unexpectedly cold Oxford morning for more than 10 minutes, we were greeted with the sight of 2 badminton players from the Other Side - a guy and a girl. I must say that the windbreaker worn by the girl was rather intimidating - "Oxford University Badminton Club". Matters weren't helped when Yew Hong pointed out (helpfully?) that she played in the recent Varsity match..

We were brought to the badminton court of Wadham College, and one word summarizes the condition of that particular court - it sucks. It's cramped, and the ceiling's way too low. That's why the shuttle hit the ceiling rather frequently, which was quite irritating during play.

The first match was the mixed doubles - Karen and I took to the court, but we kept hitting the shuttle out of the court. We lost the first match rather tamely to them, but in the second match we were getting more used to the courts, but alas the Blues player is really a class above us, hence we still lost the second match to them. We were thus down 0-1.

In the men's single, I could say that the guy was no match for me, but I kept making simple errors like hitting the shuttle out of the court when I lifted the shuttle, and smashing the shuttle into the net. I won the first set, but those errors costed me the second set. In the third set I suddenly got into the rhythm, and thus easily won the last set. 1-1.

In the deciding women's single, Rachel was up against a tougher opponent than mine - as it was her first time in the courts, she, like us previously, made a lot of unforced errors (by this juncture we were actually suspicious that the badminton court was actually smaller than the normal ones). She lost the first game rather quickly, but in the second set she fought back more valiantly, but was still tamed by the Blue's precise strokes. It ended 1-2 in the Other Side's favour, sadly.

Written by Liew Yi Jin

OxBridge Games 2007: Football

It was the tie of the year. The match that every CUMaS footballer had been preparing for. Captain Yew Hong had his team all ready and fired up for the match.

And then the rain came. Unable to use a proper football pitch (through no fault of our Oxford counterparts), the substitute field came in the form of a soggy rugby pitch, which caused no more than a few in the team to feel downcast.

The strong winds put the Light Blues under tremendous pressure from the start. Like a twelfth man for Oxford, it took the long out of long balls. Heavy pressure from the Oxford strikers put the backline constantly under pressure. The CUMaS backline did well to keep them at bay for the opening period of the game, albeit with a little help from the linesman’s flag.

Cambridge got a massive boost in the 17th minute when in a rare Cambridge attack, the referee awarded a penalty for handball. Ju Xing’s powerful strike was unfortunately deemed too high.

Oxford then scored two quick successive goals. The first came after the Oxford striker beat the offside trap to slot in neatly. The second came in a defensive mix up, and the shot unfortunately deflected of Alex Teo and beat the ‘keeper. 2-0 to the home side at half time.



The wind continued through the second half and was to our advantage. It was a scrappy affair with both sides tussling for the ball in midfield. But Cambridge were not to be denied. A fortunate goal by Kevin Lau raised hopes, and later on, a good through ball finished by Voon Kiat leveled the scores. Cambridge was jubilant and in confident mood.

Oxford then pushed forward in search of a winner, and they found it in the 82nd minute when Cambridge’s failure to clear the ball gave Oxford the chance to score with a well taken shot.

Overall, it was a well balanced match and a good game for both sides. Cambridge will feel a little aggrieved by the result, but the close score line gives them confidence for the return match next year.



Written by Ian Chin

OxBridge Games 2007 [Results]

Just to announce the results of the OxBridge Games, and to give a brief summary on what happened! (Details will be given later)

Basketball (W)
- We won this event by a considerable margin. 34-10. Yi Chung was undoubtedly the star.

Football (L)
- We lost 3-2, but admirably. A last minute goal sank us.

Badminton (L)
- We won the men's singles event, but lost the the women's singles event and mixed doubles.

Table Tennis (W)
- We won this event, though very close. It was closely fought, with Chris eventually beating his opponent 3-2.

Squash (D)
- This turned out to be a draw. We won the men's singles, but unfortunately we lost the women's event.

Netball (W)
- We won the deciding event 7-6. Up 7-2 most of the way, we held on for a victory in an event which we had not won in years.

Overall, we were the eventual winners, winning 3 events, losing 2 and drawing 1.

Again, I would just like to say well done to everyone involved and bringing back the cup this year!