Tuesday, January 26, 2010 – The Team Singapore female team got off their campaign in the Singapore 1st Youth Handball Tournament to a 10-43 defeat under the hands of a strong Chinese Taipei opposition. The game was the start of a 3-day tournament to be held in Suntec City Convention Hall from 26-28 January 2010.
The physical advantage of the Chinese Taipei ladies posed a constant threat throughout the game, with both centre backcourts Shin Wei-Ju and Lin Hsin-Yi making their presence felt with their towering frames.
Both teams endured a nervy start, with early exchanges ending up being futile efforts. Chinese Taipei finally broke the deadlock at the 1 min 30 sec mark with Wang Yu-Fen breaking down the Singapore defence straight through the middle. This gave the Chinese Taipei team a surge in confidence as they quickly established a 3-0 cushion within the opening 3 minutes.
Team Singapore tried to get back into the game but the Chinese Taipei defence was simply too tight. On occasions where they did manage to break through the defence, the shots were directed straight at the goalkeeper, who had no difficulties keeping them out. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei capitalised on the lapses in concentration of Singapore as they started to pull away from the game with a series of turnovers and fast breaks spearheaded by wingmen Huang Wen Yu.
The lead was extended to 10-0 after Huang scored from a 7-metre penalty following a foul by Singapore’s Gan Yun Ting, forcing a time-out from the Singapore bench. Following the time-out, Singapore returned with a renewed sense of determination, but their passing often let them down. These errors soon came to haunt them as they were punished by another wave of fast breaks by the quick-footed Chinese Taipei ladies.
Not to be discouraged, Team Singapore tried patiently to wear down the Chinese Taipei defence. Their efforts were finally rewarded when Gan Yun Ting launched a swift counter-attack from the left flank before finally nesting the ball at the bottom right corner, to the thunderous applause from the supporting home fans. The first half ended 21-1 to the visitors.
After the break, Singapore became more organised and disciplined, both in attack and defence. Their new tactic of exploiting the wing play seemed to have paid off as they successfully carved open the Chinese Taipei defense, embarking on a 4-1 run and thereby reducing the deficit the 5-27. Top scorer of the game, Lin Hsin-Yi then enjoyed a spectaculor run of her own. The Chinese Taipei attacking lynchpin used her agility and neat footwork to great effect, dancing past the Singapore defence and putting 5 goals behind the net in the process. Two subsequent long ranged efforts from Chinese Taipei substitute Koh Fu Mei forced another time-out from Singapore, with the game at 35-5 in the visitors’ favour. 
Team Singapore restarted the game with greater urgency as the game was approaching its end. This resulted in another 4-0 run by the Singapore ladies, including an impressive long range shot fired home by Tan Bee Leng which brought the game to 36-9. However, their momentum was broken as team captain and goalkeeper Chen Yi-Hsuan pulled off an excellent reflex save for Chinese Taipei in the 25th minute of the second half.
Fatigue soon set in for both teams as the match drew to a close. Both teams of players became slower in back tracking, resulting in loop holes in the defence. Led by Huang Wen-Yu, Chinese Taipei then went on a 5-0 run of their own, putting the game beyond doubt. Singapore’s Grace Ong then added on to her personal tally as she weaved passed Chinese Taipei’s central defence, putting Singapore on double figures. 
The match eventually ended 43-10 to Chinese Taipei after Wang Yu Fen scored the last goal of the night. Singapore will now face Hong Kong in the next match as they seek to register their first win of the tournament.
Written by: Janelle Koh
Photos taken by: Meiyin
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