Coach ures women shuttlers to keep training during break
Coach ures women shuttlers to keep training during break
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesian women shuttlers are expected to keep training during
their year-end leave as they will have less than two months to
gear up for the Uber Cup semifinal qualifying round in Melbourne,
Australia.
"Training outside the Indonesian Badminton Center (PBI) is
quite difficult for them because they need strong motivation.
Unlike in the center where there are a lot of teammates to play
with, there are only a few sparring partners in their hometowns
or clubs," training director Christian Hadinata said on Monday.
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) will give its
shuttlers annual leave for Idul Fitri from Dec. 14 until Dec. 23,
while those who celebrate Christmas will begin their leave on
Dec. 22.
All shuttlers, but especially the women, are expected to
return to the center in Cipayung, East Jakarta in early January
at the latest to resume training.
Christian said there were numerous ways the Uber Cup shuttlers
could motivate themselves while training outside the center, for
example by sparring with male shuttlers or playing two-on-one or
three-on-one games.
"This way, the national shuttlers will both create a new
atmosphere and share their skills with their original clubs at
the same time."
He also emphasized that motivation would make a difference
with less than two months of preparation.
"I know they are prone to a drop in form during leave but it
is their responsibility to avoid the worst effects of training
outside the badminton center," he said.
Indonesia, winner in 1975, 1994 and 1996, has to contest the
Uber Cup semifinal qualifying round with fellow Asian
heavyweights, including South Korea and Japan. Only the top three
will qualify for the finals in Guangzhou, China, next May.
Title holder and host China is exempted from the qualifying
round, prompting the International Badminton Federation to award
an extra ticket to the finals to participating teams in
Melbourne. The other three slots are up for grabs, mostly by
European teams, in the other semifinal qualifiers to be played in
Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
But Christian said Indonesia should pull out all the stops to
finish on top of the Asia Oceania zone.
"Third or fourth place in the Asia Oceania zone looks enough
to secure a place in the final round. This, however, will not
give us an advantage at all," said Christian.
If Indonesia finishes third or fourth in the semifinals, it
will have to meet a top European team in Guangzhou.
Christian also admitted the newly appointed PBSI's board of
executives had yet to announce the Uber Cup squad although there
were already team nominees.
"Well, the nominees are those senior shuttlers in the center.
We have also nominated several promising juniors for the team but
you will have to wait for the official announcement," he said.
"The most important thing is that all the shuttlers are
ready."
Indonesia last won the Uber Cup in Hong Kong five years ago
after defeating China. But China regained the trophy in 1998,
also in Hong Kong.
In 2000, Indonesia failed at the semifinal stage of the finals
round, going down to Denmark in Malaysia.