Badmintom team told to get in shape for Sudirman Cup

JAKARTA (JP): Members of the national badminton team, who have just returned from Europe, were told yesterday to get fitter for the Sudirman Cup and World Championships in May.

National coach Tahir Djide said, "We must not waste time. We only have two months to prepare and we must start training next week."

"The Sudirman Cup is our main target because we have failed to win it back. This year is our chance," he added.

Tahir said the shuttlers needed between six and eight weeks to peak.

"Based on my experience, six weeks is enough for them to reach top form. Ideally, athletes need three months but we're afraid they will overtrain," he said.

"Before starting physical training, the coach and players must realize their weaknesses," he added.

Last week, Soemarjono, the Badminton Association of Indonesia's executive director, said the shuttlers had failed to win at the All England Championships in Birmingham two weeks ago because they were unfit.

He said the association had to appoint a physical trainer for the athletes.

Soemarjono named Tahir, who successfully trained the shuttlers for the Thomas and Uber Cup championships in Hong Kong last year, as the man to improve the team's fitness.

Senior shuttler Joko Supriyanto admitted yesterday he was not in peak condition.

"I haven't reached my peak. If Pak Tahir will train us, it will be better," he said.

Joko said a special physical trainer would improve the training atmosphere.

"Being trained by our coach is probably harder than by Pak Tahir. But he (Tahir) would increase our motivation," he said.

Joko said that training under Taher had to start by next week.

All England

Tahir said he had doubted the team's preparation for the All England.

"When I watched their training, I knew they hadn't been pushed to their limit," he said.

He said that Hariyanto Arbi, who reached the All England semifinals and Swiss Open quarterfinals, Chandra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto had to train harder.

"Hari lost his accuracy in the third set because of his physical condition. So did Sigit and Chandra. They're still young, we can make them better by giving them harder training," he said.

"They lack strength, power and endurance," he added.

Joko said four juniors -- Indra Wijaya, Budi Santoso, Jeffer Rosobin and Salim -- had failed at the All England because they were over faced in the world's eldest tournament.

"They complained that they had trouble adapting to the court," he said.

Joko said the four male seniors -- Joko, Alan Budikusuma, Ardy B Wiranata and Hariyanto Arbi -- had failed because they were unfit.

"I had just recovered from a three-and-a-half-month injury. I realized that I couldn't win. I just looked to be competitive," he said.

Coach Retno Kustiyah said that if the shuttlers were fitter, they would have all performed better in the All England.

"Our technical skills were good but our physical condition was lousy," she said.

Retno said that Mia Audina, one of her athletes, had a new attitude to training.

"She realized that her physical condition was bad. Now she's working hard to be her best," she said.

The association will select 40 shuttlers in early April for its squad for the Sudirman Cup and the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. It said it would select the squad based on the world rankings to be issued by the International Badminton Federation on April 1. (yan)