Spirit Like No Other

Today marks the day of the end of the high school Water Polo Championship. I saw what true water polo is today and it really gave me a complex understanding to water polo. Water polo is not about the technique or the swimming, oh well guess it might be, but today, I finally understood what my seniors always meant when they say, "Go down there and play like there's no tomorrow."

I went to watch the B Division water polo championship today between HCI and ACSI. At the preliminary round, HCI lost to ACSI 6-2. With this result, it seemed as though ACSI were the favourites to beat HCI in the finals, already proving their mettle. ACSI were all extremely fit swimmers and there was no doubt their team was one of the best in Singapore. With all these factors, ACSI were extremely confident of winning.

However, HCI, not being wavered by the preliminary performance, went to CCAB with high spirits, knowing that if they worked doubly hard, they had a chance, and that chance wasn't a small one, that they could just well walk away with the gold. Furthermore, with the fact that HCI has had a drought of the B Division gold, my seniors really wanted to place their names in history to be the batch to break the drought. In addition, the supporters for HCI was really awesome, cheering their hearts out, not minding to break their vocal chords. They were really great, supporting as best as they could, and with their vocal support, it overwhelmed ACSI till ACSI's drums and props which were used for support instead of voices, was nothing compared to us. With these great motivations, there was really a urge and a craving in them to snatch the gold.

ACSI, with their victory over HCI in the preliminary round, thought that this would be an easy fight, but they were proven wrong, when HCI took the lead over ACSI with 2-1 in the first half. It was really a very tough fight, with ACSI taking the lead several times, but HCI really wanted the gold and fought really hard, when the centre back did his best to snatch as many balls as possible, fighting so hard, but unfortunately got a permanent sack, having collected three sacks. HCI did not back down without a fight, they persevered, defended and attacked. They equalised many many times and the score was finally tied at 4-4 in the last quarter. Heartrendingly, with about a minute or so left, ACSI put in a shot and made the score 5-4. And that was the final score, with ACSI grabbing the gold. At this moment, everyone in HCI were heartbroken, inside all of us, we knew we emerged the better team, but were unlucky that we lost. The entire water polo team was in low spirits, but we still congratulated the ACSI team. This sportsmanship was something every athlete should equip themselves with no matter what sport you play.

When I saw the rough fights in the pool, the sweat, the pain from the tough match and the scratches they endured, I was really emotionally moved by this scene. It seemed as though all the blood they bled, all the perspiration they sweated out, they all went down the drain, but in our hearts, we know who was the better side.

In particular, I noticed the B Division vice-captain. He had a medical history, and almost had to stop water polo. However, he persevered, with the support of his teammates, and he came back to play. He could well be said the man of the match, playing extremely hard for the team and snatching many balls from the opponent. The effort he put in although he almost could not play water polo anymore. I saw his chest, with scratches on it, and blood oozing out, but I could tell he didn't mind all this anymore, he was only heartbroken about the loss, because he really gave it his best and felt that they should have won the match. But at this time, it was all over and what's done was done. They accepted it and moved on, although it would be etched in their minds for eternity. At that time, I could really feel that sense of being in a team, that in a team, there was no blaming each other. You rise as a team, and you fall as a team. This time, they fell as a team, but they were able to pick themselves up and present themselves in front of their supporters to thank them. It was really a true spirit of athletes.

I really felt sad at that time and comforted them. Although they lost, I have never seen a fighting spirit like theirs before. It was extremely impressive and I aspired to be like them when I become a senior myself. Since they couldn't break the drought, it would be up to us to demonstrate and see if we can break it.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the purpose of this post. The purpose is to show that no matter what happens, whether the odds are stacked against you or not, you must never feel demoralised and should go all the way, not backing down a single bit at all. You should have the fighting spirit and determination to fight all the way. Because, you never know the result of a match till it's played, everyone has an equal 50/50 chance of winning the match. So, can you'll discuss with me what feelings have you'll felt when you lost or won a competition?