Young shuttlers advised to overcome mental obstacles

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)