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SINGAPORE 2 Foreign Talent 0.
That was the 'score' in the National Inter-School 'A' Division badminton finals at the Jurong East Sports Hall yesterday.
The all-Singapore boys and girls teams from Raffles Institution (RJC) beat the all-foreign girls team and almost all foreign boys team from Jurong Junior College (JJC).
Of the seven members in the boys team, four were from China, one from South Korea, and only two were locals.
The score for both matches: 3-1 in favour of Raffles.
For Jurong, it turned out to be a double whammy. Not only did they lose, but critics also questioned their foreign talent scheme.
Jurong was on a record-breaking spree in the tournament after their boys and girls team entered the badminton final for the first time in its history.
But critics were quick to slam the girls' team line-up as all of them were from China - enrolled through the Direct School Admission scheme.
The make-up of the squads had people talking. The vice-captain of the Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) badminton team, John Low, 18, said of the foreign line-up: 'It's unfair and we do feel a little resentful.'
Anglo-Chinese lost to Jurong 0-5 in the semi-finals.
Raffles coach Hamid Khan, 44, too, felt it was unfair.
He said: 'Foreign talent is okay, but there must be a cap in their numbers, say two or three every school.
'How are we going to raise the standard of badminton here if we have so many foreigners playing for one school?'
Sheena Tan, 18, who played in the first doubles match for Raffles, agreed.
She said: 'They do help raise the standard of schools' badminton. But there should be a cap.'
Raffles' reserve player, Lim Boon Tiong, 17, said: 'It's unfair. A lot of us feel like we're playing for Singapore, not just Raffles.'
But Jurong principal Steven Koh defended his school's position.
He said: 'We can't get good local players because they all go to the top junior colleges. For neighbourhood junior colleges like us to have a fighting chance, we need foreign talent.
'It's a problem faced by all except the top junior colleges.'
Raffles has so far won 19 sports titles this year, including yesterday's haul. Its tally includes major sports like track and field, cross-country, table-tennis and swimming.
Jurong girls got off to a good start when Zhang Xiao Dan beat Raffles' Melissa Leong 2-0.
But then Raffles went on to win the next three games to win the title.
How the boys did
In the boys, Jurong lost the first two sets. For a while, it seemed that they would fight back after Chen Yi Ming from Sichuan, China, beat Raffles' Aloysius Tan.
Then came the crucial second doubles game. Raffles needed one more win to take the gold.
Jurong's Francis Rathinam Charles and Jiang Hong Bo were pitted against Law Jia Hao and Daryl Wong.
The supporters of each team were on their feet, wildly applauding every point their team scored.
Even as the tension rose, one could see even Anglo-Chinese boys, perennial rivals to Raffles, cheering them on.
When Raffles won the final rubber set of the closely fought doubles 28-26, the ACJC boys were seen cheering their rivals.
To many, 'Singapore' had won.
Han Yongming, newsroom intern
This article was first published in The New Paper.
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