Balut

Convenor: Vashi Sajnani | Article by: Anwar Gaffoor

After a hiatus of more than two years, it was exhilarating for our Members to be able to play against another Club and the POT Games hosted by Tanglin Club (TC) provided this opportunity. 16 players from each Club battled it out on 12 March. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we had to play under trying conditions with players confined to the same table and same opponents for all eight rounds. No moving around, masks on all the time, no idle chatter, no liquid refreshments other than water and so on but still, it was great to meet our good friends from TC. We started off well with a slim lead of 25 points after the first round but lost that lead in the second round to TC who then had a margin of 67 points. We regained the lead on the third but failed to hold on to it and we could not muster enough points to overtake TC in the subsequent rounds. Final score was Tanglin Club 12,049 points / SCC 11,858 points - a convincing victory by TC and one that comes after eight years. On an individual level, TC’s Anand Menon took the lead with 860 points followed by Padmini and Vikram. Our Balagopal came in fourth and just ahead of Foo Yong by a mere single point. Captain is now going to initiate training sessions for our players who seem to have lost their touch due to lack of competitive play for a long time! But seriously, TC played well and there is no taking away their rightful victory.

We had joint winners for the February games on 12th and 17th of that month with 633 points shared by Else Stokkmo and Mahes Velupillai. Usually the winner would be decided by a throw of the box for choice but the Section Committee felt this was not fair and so both winners will be given the top prizes. Philippe Provost took the honour for the lowest score of 496 points. As there were no games in March due to planned renovations in the Gilmour Room which were later postponed, the prizes will be given at the April Section Night.

At the time of writing this report, restrictions have been further eased and we are allowed to have up to 30 players who will need to remain masked and unable to move around tables.

Food will now be allowed but only before or after the game and there will not be any food or beverages served or consumed during the game. While these are not yet ideal conditions for Balut, which is a very social game, we will take the conditions as they come and we hope for full normality in the very near future. On the horizon is the resumption of STC Inter Club League and if the situation improves further, we could also see the return of Triangular Club, Padang Shield with SRC, Conviviality Cup and the jewel in the crown, the Annual Interport involving local and foreign Clubs. Not to forget the occasional friendly matches and perhaps a couple of tours thrown in for good measure. Everything is very “iffy” with a fluid COVID-19 situation evolving but we do hope we will be able to resume more games as time goes.

In this issue of Padang, there is published a comprehensive guide to learning Balut and how the scores are derived. We hope Members will find the guide useful and they can contact Section officials for a practical session at the Club. We are grateful to Tony Fisher and Mohan Balagopal for compiling this guide and printed copies will also be available at MSD for those interested.