Coach happy with shuttlers' physical fitness improvement

JAKARTA (JP): With only a few days to go before the Sudirman Cup, Indonesian badminton team trainer Tahir Djide expressed satisfaction with improvements in the national shuttlers physical condition.

"Results from the second physical fitness test, staged on Saturday, showed their condition improved by about 70 to 80 percent," he said at the Indonesian Badminton Center in Cipayung, East Jakarta.

However, Tahir said the shuttlers should be better prepared physically for a major event like the Sudirman Cup.

"They have yet to reach their best form, based on the international standard for shuttlers. It's different from when I trained Liem Swie King and Icuk Sugiarto in the 1980s," he said.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) staged two physical fitness tests last month, testing the athletes on the VO2 Max, which measures oxygen's capability in the blood.

Both test results showed national shuttlers have not reached the international standard of 69 milliliters per kilogram of weight per minute.

Tahir said during the two-week training program, athletes managed to increase their score on the VO2 Max from 55 ml/kg/min. to 58 ml/kg/min. at the highest.

"Among the five events, women's singles have the lowest results. But they only took part in the first test," he said.

Tahir said women's singles player Lidya Djaelawidjaja and doubles specialist Zelin Resiana had the best results among the female shuttlers.

However, Tahir was disappointed with the test results of All England finalist Taufik Hidayat, whose performance on the VO2 Max decreased.

"I hoped he would reach 59 on the second test but he failed, decreasing by two from his first test result of 56," he said.

Tahir, however, expressed optimism that Taufik would still be able to perform at his best in the Sudirman Cup and the World Championships in Copenhagen from May 10 to May 15.

Taufik was among several players who complained about the training program, saying it could cause injuries.

Tahir defended his training program, saying he was trying to train shuttlers to move and use their energy as efficiently as possible.

He said he only prescribed elementary exercise in the first week of training and in the second week employed circuit training.

"I only gave them elementary training and they complained. What if I gave them advanced training," he said.

"It is much more important to focus our attention on nontechnical aspects, including physical training," he said.

Tahir urged technical coaches to encourage their athletes to take part in regular physical fitness training. Coaches also must recognize each athlete's basic skills, which include strength, power and speed, he said.

"When they have strong basic skills, then we can improve their technique and prepare them for tougher competition," he said.

Earlier, PBSI training director Christian Hadinata said athletes were not prepared for tournaments.

"Their complaints reflect their poor condition. Pak Tahir is a very experienced trainer. He has considered the perfect method to increase our athletes' form in a very short time," he said.

"Physical training won't injure athletes if they are really prepared for major events. Besides, the training puts more emphasis on movement to support their technical skills." (yan)