Young shuttlers advised to overcome mental obstacles

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) training director Christian Hadinata said on Wednesday Indonesian players must overcome psychological barriers during a certain period in their careers.

Christian was commenting on the poor performances of two Indonesian shuttlers in the US$150,000 Sanyo Indonesia Open. The two athletes, Yudi Suprayogi and Jeffer Rosobin, both made first- round exits from the tournament.

"Jeffer began to play well several years ago. We thought he could eventually takeover for the veteran players. Apparently he was unable to break through that psychological barrier of becoming a top player, and he wasn't really sure about which way he wanted to go -- to success or failure," he said.

Jeffer lost to Malaysia's Yap Yong Jyen 15-12, 14-17, 11-15 for the second time in as many meetings. The pair first met in the Malaysia Open. Yudi also bowed out to a Malaysian shuttler, Jason Wong, 11-15, 3-15.

"Jeffer should have been able to take control during the critical points due to his experience. Unfortunately, he wasted his chances, particularly in the second set when he was really close to victory, leading 14-13 and holding serve," Christian said.

Christian said Taufik Hidayat, the All England runner-up, Singapore Open finalist and 1999 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, was someone who could deal with the pressure of being a top player.

He said Taufik's teammates Ronny Agustinus and Johan Hadi Kusuma were nearing this same level of maturity.

"Ronny and Johan are only one step away from being prepared to become top players.

"Some players were stuck in the same circumstance for some time, but finally managed to break the barrier, including Joko Supriyanto, Hendrawan and Budi Santoso," he said. "Unfortunately, when they broke the barrier, they were too old for long-term glory."

Speaking about Yudi, Christian blamed the young player's lack of experience as the main factor in his loss to the Malaysian.

"Yudi must change his monotonous play by better covering the court and improving the accuracy of his shots," he said.

Christian declined to say whether Yudi and Jeffer would be relegated by the badminton association in December.

"It is difficult to decide which players must be expelled from the Indonesia Badminton Center based on the Indonesia Open, because players don't have to face players from China and South Korea, who are not taking part in the tournament." (yan)