Mental focus key in Olympics: Indonesian shuttlers

Mental focus key in Olympics: Indonesian shuttlers

SYDNEY (JP): In such a high level competition like the
Olympics where everyone has technical skills, mental resilience
and ability to focus differentiates between winners and losers,
Indonesian medalists Tony Gunawan and Hendrawan said.

Revealing his key to success, Tony, who grabbed the men's
badminton doubles title with Candra Wijaya, said on Tuesday he
consulted psychologist Andrie Wongso to boost his morale prior to
the final match.

"When playing in a major event, motivation is important to
help me ease the enormous pressure. It worked and I won," said
Tony while shopping with girlfriend and badminton stablemate Etty
Tantri.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia hired Andrie to
motivate the Thomas Cup team in May. They won the trophy for a
record 12th time.

"In the Olympics, technical skills are not the most important
factor. The most crucial factors are our physical fitness and
mental strength, especially during critical moments.

"We must have a strong determination to win, something which I
believe has helped us on the court," Tony said.

The world number one pair of Tony and Candra defeated South
Korea's Lee Dong-soo and Yoo Yong-sung in the final. In the
semifinal the day before, they beat another Korean duo, Kim Dong-
moon and Ha Tae-kwon.

Tony said prior to the semifinal match, he recalled the
moments when he and Candra beat the Koreans in the past.

"I remembered how we beat them at the 1999 Grand Prix Final in
Brunei Darussalam and the during the 1998 All England. I didn't
want to recall the time we lost to them because it would make us
feel down," said Tony.

Men's singles player Hendrawan and diving team coach Harly
Ramayani agreed with Tony.

But Hendrawan said psychological consultation could only help
athletes if the they were open to the experts.

"Sometimes, athletes prefer not to talk to the psychologists
for unclear reasons. On the other hand, some psychologists lack
initiative and are not close to the athletes,"Hendrawan said.

Hendrawan, seeded second in the Olympics, lost to seventh seed
Ji Xinpeng of China in the final.

The National Sports Council (KONI) has assigned psychologists
Rosa Hertamina and Juanita Nasution to handle athletes'
psychological needs, especially when they are facing world-class
athletes.

"Ideally after every championship, athletes must be given
their psychological profile on their defeat. It will serve as a
valuable lesson for the athletes when preparing for future
tournaments," Hendrawan said.

Separately, Harly emphasized the importance of self-confidence
and determination when taking on top rated opponents.

She said her prodigy, women's diver Shenny Ratna Amelia,
failed to reach her best form as she could not cope with the
tension. Shenny finished last in the 10m platform.

Harly expressed hope that Shenny would receive special
training on how to improve her mental resilience. (yan)