By the time Day 1 of THG came, I had conditioned myself to think that having enough players to form a Gaja team would be a victory in itself. I had registered for three sports: Tchoukball \u2013 a game I had only picked up in Week 1, Captain\u2019s Ball \u2013 the easiest game on the list to me at that point, and Football \u2013 by far the best sport in the world.<\/p>\n
Forget about winning. And win we didn\u2019t. Football started early on Saturday morning, and Gaja\u2019s team lost three games and drew one, scoring none and conceding many over the course of four matches. I wasn\u2019t particularly affected by the (lack of) results, it just felt good to finally be kicking a ball again, after what had been almost two weeks without football.<\/p>\n
I decided to head over to the RC4 MPH as a dodgeball spectator after lunch that afternoon, as I didn\u2019t have games for the rest of the day. Whilst there, I found myself tremendously entertained by the speed and enthusiasm at which the players hit the ground in an attempt to stay alive in the game.<\/p>\n
But it was something else I heard along the sidelines that really captured my attention as I approached the second day of the games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe might lose this one\u2026 I prioritised participation over winning,\u201d said Rajesh (who was coordinating Gaja\u2019s badminton exploits) to Yee Han, when he was asked how the badminton team was doing. Instinctively, my internal alarm bells were set off. Who would prioritise participation over winning? It seemed foolish to me, even if not to anyone else. Yee Han nodded understandingly, and Rajesh admitted to the possibility of losing without any hint of regret. Perhaps my notion about what THG should be like was entirely wrong.<\/p>\n
Bearing this in mind, Day 2 proved to be an unforgettable experience.<\/p>\n
Prior to this, I made it a point to attend Tchoukball trainings on Thursdays, and more often than not, I was one of the only players from Gaja. On a good day, we might have had five players at Thursday training \u2013 still not enough to form a team.<\/p>\n
As the Gaja \u2018Tchoukballers\u2019 gathered in the lobby for breakfast on Sunday morning, I looked around. I had never played a game of Tchoukball with some of them before, but there we were on that morning, about to call ourselves a team.<\/p>\n
We entered our first game free from the pressure of having to win, perhaps completely resigned to the \u2018underdog\u2019 tag that had surely been placed on us.<\/p>\n
However, a surprise awaited us as the referee announced the results as the end of the game. We had won! I don\u2019t remember the score, and it probably wasn\u2019t a huge victory margin, but it didn\u2019t really matter at that point. Victory was surreal, and victory was sweet.<\/p>\n
This went on for the next two matches, much to our delight. It would be important to mention at this juncture that in our second and third games, Gaja had players on court who, until that morning, had never played a proper game of Tchoukball before.<\/p>\n
What was notable was the atmosphere that was beginning to build within the MPH. It wasn\u2019t just amongst the Gaja team, but amongst all the teams that a spirit of encouragement was starting to build.<\/p>\n
I saw high-fives all around \u2014 between teammates and between opponents (even in the midst of games) \u2014 all for no good reason except that we wanted to brighten up someone else’s day. I too started to greet players even before our games started. It felt like the right thing to do, and I was gradually beginning to understand what THG was about. Old players were coaching new players on court, and new players were guiding even newer ones. It didn\u2019t matter if it was your first time, all that anyone needed to be accepted on the courts that morning was an enthusiastic heart.<\/p>\n
![\"THG2\"](\"http:\/\/tembusu.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/THG2.jpg\")
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