Coach happy with shuttlers' physical fitness improvement

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)