Agus ready to help boost shuttlers' fighting spirit

JAKARTA (JP): Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) vice chairman Agus Wirahadikusumah said on Thursday that he would not walk away from his responsibilities in the organization due to the athletes' request that he be more active in PBSI.

"As the vice chairman, I can't leave my responsibility. I'm prepared to help chairman Subagyo Hadisiswoyo and other officials to groom athletes for the Thomas and Uber Cups and also the Olympics," he said.

Agus urged all PBSI officials to unite their motivation and fighting spirit to help athletes reach their goals of retaining the Thomas Cup and winning gold medals in the Olympics.

"In 1998, the situation was hopeless but we managed to create a positive opinion which boosted the athletes' fighting spirit," said Agus, then the 1998 Thomas Cup team manager.

Indonesia was the underdog in the event and the situation was worsened by the riots, which forced former president Soeharto to step down. Indonesia managed to retain the Thomas Cup but they lost the Uber Cup to China.

Agus said officials must not treat shuttlers as employees.

"Athletes are like diamonds. They will shine depending on how we polish them. Officials must act as servants to the shuttlers. Officials must be able to listen to athletes' needs and complaints," he said.

Separately, PBSI training director Christian Hadinata said the organization would ask the official in charge of research and development, Tahir Djide, to help coaches improve their training methods, especially on athletes' fitness.

"Our shuttlers don't have any problems with their cardiovascular condition. They have great oxygen capacity in their lungs. But what I'm really worried about is their muscle endurance."

"They can play well in the beginning but later on they start to lose their endurance and make unforced errors as they fail to control their muscles."

Christian said Tahir would be in charge of increasing muscle endurance for doubles players, while Ridwan Soemardjo would assist him by taking charge of singles players.

"Pak Tahir is a very experienced physical trainer. I believe he can improve the athletes' muscle endurance and help them overcome their problems," he said before a meeting with the National Sports Council (KONI).

Levels

Christian said coaches must structure different training programs for each athlete, since their physical fitness levels were not the same.

"Actually, we didn't completely fail in the All England. Men's singles player Taufik Hidayat managed to reach the final. He showed his intentions right from the first round by winning all his matches in straight sets. Unfortunately, he lost in the final. That was only because of nontechnical problems." he said.

World ranked four Taufik bowed out to Xia Xuanze of China in his second consecutive All England final.

"In the doubles, defending champions Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan also showed an improvement. The fact that they lost to Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon of South Korea in the semifinals was not a failure. Both pairs have equal skills. It's just a matter of who performed better on the day."

Speaking about Indonesia's prospects of retaining the Thomas Cup, Christian said his team had a great chance to reach the semifinals in the championships in Kuala Lumpur from May 11 to May 21.

In the draw made by the International Badminton Federation (IBF), Indonesia is in group B with China, England and Sweden. While in Group A, host Malaysia will face Denmark, South Korea and India.

"Without underestimating the other two countries in group B, Indonesia will only face a tough challenge from China. It means we have a good chance to reach the semifinals. While in group A, three strong countries must fight for two semifinals tickets," Christian said.

In the Uber Cup, Indonesia must play Denmark, Japan and host Malaysia in group A. In group B, defending champion China will meet South Korea, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Christian said the PBSI would set up a special team to prepare shuttlers for the Thomas and Uber Cups championships after the Japan Open in mid-April. (yan)