By Ipoh Echo Correspondent
The second tie of the KLK Premier Inter-Club Tennis League 2024 continued with Polo Tennis Club (Polo) hosting Team Royal Perak Golf Club (RPGC), and Ipoh Swimming Club (ISC) hosting Team Perak Turf Club @ YMCA (PTC).
RPGC got off to a slow start, with Giri Sitham and Eric Yong losing the Men’s 90s 8-4 to the strong Polo pair of Idris Noor, Team Polo captain, and Amir Syahrul, Team Vice-Captain.
In the Men’s Open, RPGC’s Ng Keh Jun and Dominic Loh were trailing 1-5 against Polo’s Raja Hisham and stalwart Faisal Mokhtar when the younger pair finally found inspiration and clawed back to 4-5, on serve. With moral support and momentum going for them, the skies decided to open and rain halted play. All matches were suspended and rescheduled.
RPGC would come back strongly after the rain delay. When the match resumed, the resurgent pair of Dominic and Keh Jun levelled up their game, winning 3 games in a row and breaking Raja to lead 7-5, before Faisal held serve. At 7-6, the match was in Dominic’s hand and he held serve to give RPGC a stylish win, 8-6 to secure another precious point for his team.
In the Mixed, RPGC’s Anderson Lee and Rita Tan also got off to a slow start, trailing 0-3 but all credit to them for fighting tooth and nail and, on the brink of defeat, were able to dig deep to force a tiebreak. It was twists and turns, and finally, heartbreak for Team Polo as Nik Sharom had several match points serving at 7-6, only to lose his serve and force a tiebreak which Polo went on to lose. A thrilling topsy turvy match featuring yet another dramatic comeback win for RPGC.
RPGC Men’s Combined 110 pair of Tan Chee Phong/Alex Chai won it comfortably 8-5, as did the RPGC ladies pair of Agnes Mak/Emilie Ooi, 8-2 over PTC.
Over at ISC, it was a close fight between two remarkably friendly rivals.
ISC Convenor/Team Captain Kenny Lai and partner Lam Kar Wai started proceedings with a very emphatic 8-2 win over PTC’s pair of Chan Wan Kong/Teh Hooi Hong in the Open category.
PTC however won the other two men’s doubles, with Dr Foo Joo Ee/Chow Seng Wai winning 8-3 against Darren Lee/Khoo Peng Keat in the Combined 90 category, and Kiko Thadani/YY Chin 8-2 victors in the Combined 110 category against Daniel Ng/KK Koo of ISC.
With the Mixed and Ladies still to go, it was everything to play for and we were witness to some brilliant Tennis, with exciting exchanges and court craft. ISC Captain’s wife Shamaine Chong and partner Cecilia Yip prevailed over resilient PTC pair of Pinky Leong/Jillian Chong 8-4 with aggressive, dominating tennis.
In the Mixed, it was a fast and furious match with two power hitting young men and two gutsy ladies playing some top draw tennis. There was very little to choose between the two pairs, but in the end PTC’s Ian Lean/Fiona Toh eked out an 8-5 win against ISC’s Anthony Chin/Vestene Chan – just one break of serve – amid boisterous support and cheers by spectators on both sides.
Final score for Tie 2:
PTC beat ISC 3-2, RPGC beat Polo 4-1.
The inaugural KLK Premier Inter-Club Tennis League is sponsored by KLK and consists of a series of tennis matches among four clubs in Ipoh. Points are collected by each club for every game won, culminating in a final tie which will see the champion club lift the Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian Challenge Trophy. This will be played at RPGC on 23 November, 2024.
Follow Ipoh Echo for more updates as the league unfolds.
