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.