Rexy said eager to get started in Malaysia
Rexy said eager to get started in Malaysia
The Star, ANN/Kuala Lumpur
Former Indonesian doubles ace Rexy Mainaky is reported set to
travel to Malaysia earlier than expected to start work as the new
high performance men's doubles coach of the national badminton
team.
The Badminton Association of England (BAE) announced on
Tuesday that Rexy had terminated his contract with them and would
be heading for Malaysia to be nearer his widowed mother, Venna,
who lives in Jakarta.
They added that South Korean Lee Jae-bok would take up Rexy's
position. Jae-bok had worked under Steve Baddeley in the early
1990s.
Rexy's contract with the BAE ends on July 25 but Malaysia's
chief coach Yap Kim Hock said that they hope he could be here by
July 1.
The Indonesian agreed to the terms of the contract when he met
with Yap and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM)
secretary, Gangga Rao, during the Sudirman Cup world mixed team
championships in Beijing two weeks ago.
Rexy's decision to leave England surprised some, as he had
expressed satisfaction with his conditions in England and said
his children were adjusted to living in Europe.
"Rexy has agreed to take up the job in Malaysia. What is left
now is to get an endorsement from the coaching and training
committee, who are expected to meet at the end of the month,"
said Yap.
The BAM are looking at the Indonesian to be here earlier to
help out with the players' preparations for the World
Championships, which will be held in Anaheim, California, from
Aug 15-21.
The presence of Rexy will take some of the workload off the
shoulders of Yap.
His position in the doubles coaching set-up has yet to be
decided but the arrangement is expected to be similar to that for
the singles players. The singles team have two high performance
coaches -- Misbun Sidek and Chinese Li Mao.
Rexy can also be expected to put equal emphasis on the
development of the mixed doubles.
The mixed doubles has often been neglected in the past but Yap
-- in recognizing its potential, especially when it comes to the
Sudirman Cup campaign -- is looking at bringing up a set of good
players.
"We have tasted success in the Sudirman Cup and we will be out
to keep our place in Division One fromsaid Yap.
"The mixed doubles also has the potential to contribute
medals, especially in the Commonwealth and Asian Games."
Malaysia have also secured two qualifying places in the mixed
doubles in the world championships.
With the English team, Rexy has taken the mixed doubles pair
of Nathan Robertson-Gail Emms to the silver medal in the Athens
Olympic last August. The pair also won the All-England title in
March and they are the current world number one.
As a player, the 37-year-old Indonesian won Olympic and world
titles. He partnered Ricky Subagja to the Olympic title in
Atlanta in 1996, beating Yap and Cheah Soon Kit in the final.
Malaysia has used a number of foreign coaches in its efforts
to match its heyday in the sport in the 1950s and 1960s. They
have included Indra Gunawan, another Indonesian who specialized
in doubles coaching, as well as former singles champion Morten
Frost Hansen of Denmark.