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From 1 April 2006 to 9 April 2006, the inaugural Danga
Bay International Games (DBIG) was organized by the State Government of Johor
and supported by the Johor Sports Council. The Games was open to sports organizations in the SEA
region, from international contingents to various local/overseas
institutions. In Republic Polytechnic's (RP) quest for sporting excellence, Team Republic sent 46
students to compete in 5 events – bowling, cycling, badminton, netball and dragonboat race.
Up against national athletes and state representatives from Malaysia and
Indonesia, we knew it was not going to be easy for our teams. But for the skills
and experience our team lacked, they made up for it in
spirit and passion.
Our cyclists faced professionals in their race while our badminton
players sparred against a national champion. Graceful though defeated, this
opportunity to compete at an international level would inevitably raise the
standards of their play.
At Daiman Bowl,
bowlers
from the respective Malaysian states as well as the Singapore Sports School were
all raring to win. Not intimidated by the competition, our bowlers held their
own at the initial stages. Isaac Eng leapt into the top 6 (Male All Events)
while Angel Chan made it to the top 16 (Female All Events) by the 3rd
day of competition. This was our bowlers' first overseas tournament and the idea
of competing for 5 consecutive days was certainly a trying one. The competition
gradually developed into a battle against fatigue. Although it meant sacrificing
valuable time to recuperate, RP's bowling team deserves commendation as they
never failed to remain behind the lanes to egg one another on. It was probably
this spirit of camaraderie that cost our bowlers a place in the Masters Final
16.
Nusa Mutiara
Kompleks was the centre stage for our netballers
taking part in the Open Netball Championship. It seemed a little like a family
affair with little kids cheering their mothers on at the netball court. But the
mothers who took part were certainly no pushovers. This was duly proven in our
girls’ first match against the Royal Malaysia Police(PDRM).
The first half was a
rather placid affair as our girls gave PDRM too much respect. Realizing they were not playing
to their full potential, the girls' second period display gained much greater
momentum. However, a wrong pass showed how costly just one error could be as the
netballers blew their chance to turn over the score and take the lead for the
first time in the match. They lost the game 26-30 and must now beat their next
opponent to make it to the semi-finals which they duly did, defeating Mersing
43-16.
SSBD, the Sports School of Bandar Penawar was next. As expected of the
performance of a sports school, the opponents were physically stronger, tougher
and much faster. Our girls took pride in this defeat as the chance to compete
against a high-performing team was a prize on its own. But there was still
another prize to be won – the bronze medal. It was a match against PDRM once
again. This time, our girls shone and delighted the spectators with their
graceful movements and swift passes. All fired up to make up for the previous
defeat by PDRM, Team Republic clinched the bronze medal, beating PDRM 38 – 30.
As Coach Tony Tan commented after the game, “The girls did it all by
themselves”.
Our
dragonboat
team did not have an easy time either as their
competitors consisted of the various armed forces in Malaysia. There were some
familiar faces with the involvement of Temasek Polytechnic, and the Big Brother
of Singapore’s dragonboat scene - National Junior College. After intense racing,
our dragonboat team managed to qualify for the finals of the 200m and 500m events
respectively. For the 500m race, although our team started some distance behind
the rest, they showed superior displays of technique and strength by coming in
third and clinching the first medal for RP in this International Games. The 200m
race was a stiff competition and Team Republic only narrowly lost out on a
second medal. However, our boys should be proud of their display as they came
into the competition still relatively new to the sport compared to their other
compatriots.
Indeed, athletes of
Team Republic should all be proud of the tenacity and spirit shown in the Teluk
Danga Bay International Games. 2 bronze medals and plenty of spirit -
preparations for IVP are already underway.
Congratulations
Team Republic!
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