Icuk plans shake-up of training center

Eva C. Komandjaja Jakarta

National shuttlers, especially those who are not married, should no longer expect to live outside the national training center now that Icuk Sugiarto is the center's new director.

Icuk was named on Friday to the new 26-member board of the country's badminton governing body, the PBSI, under new chairman Sutiyoso.

Icuk is the PBSI's chief in charge of development affairs. His tasks includes supervising the national training center in Cipayung, East Jakarta.

The PBSI hopes to recapture the Thomas Cup and return Indonesia to its position as the world's preeminent badminton power, and Icuk is convinced that this can only be accomplished through uncompromising discipline.

Icuk has put the national shuttlers on warning, saying there will be consequences for anyone who breaks the center's 9 p.m. curfew. He also said unmarried shuttlers would be required to live at the center.

"We will have strict regulations for the shuttlers. They must learn discipline on and off court.

"If they violate the regulations they will be kicked out of camp, even if they are famous and the best shuttlers in the country," the 1983 world champion said.

But Icuk said his new get-tough policy would not come into effect until after the Athens Olympics, which will run from Aug. 13 to Aug. 29.

Several shuttlers are currently living in private residences outside of the center, and those who do live in the center frequently break curfew.

"I am sure these new regulations will spark protests from the shuttlers because they have enjoyed their freedom for much too long. These regulations will help them play better in the future," Icuk said.

One shuttler who may not appreciate these new rules is star Taufik Hidayat. Something of a celebrity in the country, the Asian champion Taufik opts to drive to the training camp from his nearby home.

Icuk also signaled that he would tighten the selection process for Cipayung, saying fewer athletes would be invited in order to make the center more prestigious.

There are currently about 130 players at Cipayung but Icuk refused to say the number of athletes he thought would be ideal for the center.

"We want to create an image that it is difficult to qualify for the national camp. That way, when a player is accepted to the camp he or she will work hard," he said.

While these plans will not come into effect until after the Olympics, Icuk has already carried out a major shake-up of the training organization by bringing in new faces on the coaching staff, although the likes of Indra Gunawan, Hendrawan, Atik Djauhari, Richard Mainaky and Christian Hadinata are not new to the Indonesian players given their past connections with the camp. Christian, for example, is a former training director.

Gone from the coaching staff are Mulyo Handoyo, who was Taufik's coach, Ivana Lie, Herry IP and Paulus Firman.

"We feel that they (new coaches) will be able to help the Indonesian shuttlers perform better in international events," Icuk said.