Doubles players get first dose of training under Rexy

TheStar

KUALA LUMPUR: Doubles shuttler Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif sprained his ankle. Some dashed out frequently to refill their water bottles. And almost all of the players were exhausted.

It was the first day of training for the men’s doubles players under former Indonesian doubles ace Rexy Mainaky at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara here yesterday.

After the three-hour morning session on-court workouts, Rexy concluded that the players needed to be more focused on the task.

“The players’ skills and techniques are fine. I am more worried about their focus and mentality in training.

“The attitude must be right and they must be professional enough in wanting to make the efforts to add quality to their game,” he said.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have hired Rexy as a high performance coach for the doubles players. He will draw up the programmes for all the men’s doubles and mixed doubles players.

“All I want from the players is full concentration when they are in training. Out of court, they can crack jokes. They cannot get anything out of a three-hour training session if they don’t work out diligently,” he said.

Rexy hopes that the players would be self-reliant.

“I will be doing a lot of analysis. I want them to watch videos once a week and think for themselves first what their game plan should be. I will then sit with them and we can analyse it together,” said Rexy, who formed a world and Olympic winning combination with Ricky Subagja.

“In England, some players turn up half an hour or an hour earlier for training. The Malaysian players must know that there is keen competition among them and those who put in the extra effort will certainly stay ahead.”

There was also a call for the senior players to throw in their support.

“I hope the support will be positive from the senior players – Choong Tan Fook, Lee Wan Wah and Chew Choon Eng. They must be good role models for the juniors,” said Rexy.

On the team’s preparation for the World Championships, which will be played in Anaheim, California, from Aug 15-21, Rexy said that he would not make drastic changes to the players’ game.

“We have about five weeks to the World Championships. The concentration will be on strengthening their combinations. We have four pairs. Hopefully one can win a medal. That is a realistic target for me now,” he added.

The four pairs for the World Championships are Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat, Tan Bin Shen-Ong Soon Hock, Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Lin Woon Fui and Tan Fook-Choon Eng.

On Zakry’s condition, Rexy said: “I hope the injury is not a result of my training. He should be all right. But the training will certainly be much tougher for everyone after the world meet.”

Yesterday, all the doubles players were present for the session except Chong Ming, Kien Keat and Wan Wah.

Chong Ming-Kien Keat have left for Manila for the inaugural MVP Cup series – a three-day tie between Asia and Europe, which begins today.

Wan Wah went to the National Sports Institute for treatment on his knee.

 

I really hope by Rexy's presence in BAM will have major improvement on the players. I'm sure there will be new names coming up from the Msian stables.