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.