Rexy Mainaky Interview 25/3/07

Discussion in 'Professional Players' started by ixory, Mar 24, 2007.

  1. ixory

    ixory Regular Member

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    Rexy: Faith is my strength

    25 Mar 2007


    REXY Mainaky has been on the lips of every Malaysian since men’s doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong burst onto the badminton scene. Nobody denies that Rexy has played an instrumental role in the pair’s development but, as Timesport’s K.M. BOOPATHY finds out, there is much, much more to the deeply religious 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medallist.

    TIMESPORT: Who is your biggest inspiration in life?

    REXY: My parents. My father (Rudolph Mainaky) was an all-rounder but his passion was badminton. My favourite sport used to be football but it was my father who diverted my focus to badminton and I owe my success to him.

    My mother Venna is the person who taught me a lot. What are the good things we should follow, the bad things we should avoid and most importantly, she thought us the importance of being God-loving human beings. She always stressed we are not perfect but praying to God improves the virtues of a person. I also read a lot about the success stories of individuals and from which I gained inspiration.

    Q: You were a charismatic and aggressive character on court and are equally the same as a coach. Are these characteristics the secret of your success?

    A: I was aggressive and shouted a lot while playing to motivate myself. It also reduced pressure and worked as a psychological ploy to battle opponents. It helped me come out of a lot of difficult situations and near defeats. I am always involved emotionally when my players are on court and I have inculcated the same attitude in my players.

    Sometimes, the players have to be fired up on court and this means expressing themselves without crossing the limits. A player who looks arrogant or too aggressive on court is not a big problem but he should not be like that off court. Humility and being humble outside the court is the only way a player can become better.



    Q: Your training sessions begin and end with a prayer. How much do you think religion helped you to become better — as a player and now as a coach?

    A: We can have all the talent and work hard but there is something beyond us that decides many things. Worshipping God is the way I grew up and religion has taught me not to be arrogant.

    The results were coming last year but I did not lose faith. I’ve always believed that God will answer my prayers and it has happened. Religion also made me very disciplined as a player and I was able to overcome many obstacles with (partner Ricky Subagja).

    I am a Christian and Ricky a Muslim but faith in our respective religions gave us the extra strength. There were times we struggled in major finals. Ricky would be saying "Bismillah" when serving while I would be praying in my own way and it always helped. This is why I encourage all my players to spend a moment on prayer in their own way and based on their religious beliefs. When nothing works, faith in God is the final solution.

    Q: What is your favourite past time? What would you do on Sundays?

    A: When I was a player, my favourite past time was to have a game of football with my friends. Now it is all about spending time with my wife (Henny Mainaky) and my children Geraldine (nine) and Indonesia’s Christian Rudolph (eight). On Sundays, I’ll go to church with my family which gives me more opportunity to spend quality time with them and also to meet a lot of friends. After that, I normally take my family to shopping malls, movies or relax with them at home.

    Henny is a good cook and a good meal on Sundays is also something I look forward to. I also make use of the time to find ways to improve my players. I try to visualise the plans of my rival coaches in order to keep ahead. I think along the lines of what would I do if I were Denmark’s coach and what would my strategy be if I were China’s coach? It is normally hard to get completely away from badminton.



    Q: What is a perfect day for you?

    A: Everyday is a perfect day for me. My routine is almost the same where I conduct training, return home, and have dinner with my family. Add it with time to attend church and time to catch a movie. That’s enough to make it a perfect day.

    However, a one-off perfect day I’m waiting for is the men’s doubles final of the Olympics where my players end up winning the gold. Nothing can beat that.

    Q: Former internationals normally consider a coaching role in their country but England was your choice. What made you accept an offer in a country where the culture and tradition is in stark contrast to Asian lifestyle?

    A: The offer I received from England was good and at the same time my children got the opportunity to get overseas education. I also wanted new experiences and a different kind of challenge in Europe. It was not because of the country’s (Indonesia) economical and political situation. My experience in England has made me a better coach where I’m able to understand the culture and characteristics of both worlds.

    Q: What actually brought you to Malaysian shores?

    A: I actually decided to accept a long term contract with England but a meeting with Yap Kim Hock (national chief coach) during the 2005 All England changed everything. I requested for two weeks to make a decision and it was Henny’s call once again. It was a coincidence that Henny and her friend were treated badly by some young English boys and she felt very hurt by their remarks about us being Asians. When I spoke to her about the offer from Malaysia, she agreed.

    The other factor is England were having an aging squad while Malaysia have a lot of young players with potential. Therein lay the chance to prove myself further as a top coach and I accepted the challenge.

    Q: Who was your idol as a player and who would you like to emulate as a coach?

    A: My favourite players are China’s Yang Yang and Christian Hadinata. Many would be surprised to hear Yang Yang’s name but I started as a singles player. Christian is probably our best doubles player ever and as a coach, nobody can match him until today. That’s the reason why I want to emulate him as a coach. If possible, to be better than him.

    Christian moulded Ricky and me into a world class pair and there were many others who attained fame. As a player, Christian was a great tactician, calm on court, never panicked and destroyed the opposition with little trouble. He pioneered the modern game and we were lucky to have him during our career.

    Q: What prompted you to create the combination of Kien Keat-Boon Heong and how much more do you think they can achieve in their careers?

    A: I had seen Kien Keat in action (before coming to Malaysia) and even England players like Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark said he had a lot of potential.

    I had not seen much of Boon Heong when I arrived as he was away for some junior tournaments. When I saw him in training, I realised that he was the ideal partner for Kien Keat and felt the duo could go far. I tried them out for the first time in the Japan Open and their performance (they lost in the final) encouraged me to play them in the Asian Games and the rest is history.

    The good thing is they are just starting and they can win many more honours. The sky is the limit for them. As long as they stay level headed and don’t allow distractions such as money and fame to cloud their young minds, they are capable of winning major events, with the Olympics gold their ultimate target.

    Q: What is your biggest achievement thus far as a coach?

    A: My biggest achievement is probably guiding Kien Keat-Boon Heong from World No 119 to World No 10 after just five Super Series and grand prix tournaments. This needs consistency and it is actually a bigger achievement compared to the Asian Games gold and the All England title. My first success was probably guiding three Malaysian pairs into the semi-finals of the 2006 All England and this was followed by the decision to form the Kien Keat-Boon Heong partnership.

    Q: What are your future plans?

    A: I would rather not think about that just yet but coaching is expected to be my long term profession. As of now, I will be with the Malaysian team until the Beijing Olympics and will only think about my future plans after that.

    Q: Do you expect a better contract (when the present one expires in June)?

    A: We have achieved some good results and I will also be taking charge of the mixed doubles. It is natural to expect a better contract but this is not for me to decide. It is not good if I request a salary which my employer is not comfortable with.
    Both sides must be happy with the new contract and I leave this matter to my employer, (the BA of Malaysia) to decide.
     
    #1 ixory, Mar 24, 2007
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2007
  2. haifeng4ever

    haifeng4ever Regular Member

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    Rexy is a Christian? IS IT TRUE?
     
  3. ixory

    ixory Regular Member

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    yes he is christian...;)
     
  4. JaCk™

    JaCk™ Regular Member

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    yes, he is a christian. his partner, ricky is a muslim. according to Rexy, there are discrimination in England which makes Rexy comes to Malaysia.
     
  5. haifeng4ever

    haifeng4ever Regular Member

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    Nice to know that I'm sharing the same religion as the super duper coach. Excuse me for out of topic once in a while. :D :D ;)
     
  6. alfa-2

    alfa-2 Regular Member

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    As a malaysian i hope that Rexy will be as comfortable as possible here in Malaysia, coz he has made us proud by aiding KKK/TBH in winning so much in a short time. We are so proud of him and hope that he is proud of Malaysia too. Thank you so much, Rexy Mainaky.
     
  7. cheeyf

    cheeyf Regular Member

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    nice interview. rexy is a great coach.gd family man too. glad that he has strong faith and encourage players to pray. hope he will bring more success 2 kkk/tbh and other pairs including XD
     
  8. JaCk™

    JaCk™ Regular Member

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    Q: What actually brought you to Malaysian shores?

    A: I actually decided to accept a long term contract with England but a meeting with Yap Kim Hock (national chief coach) during the 2005 All England changed everything. I requested for two weeks to make a decision and it was Henny’s call once again. It was a coincidence that Henny and her friend were treated badly by some young English boys and she felt very hurt by their remarks about us being Asians. When I spoke to her about the offer from Malaysia, she agreed.

    According to the interview, english people discriminates Asians? Rexy's wife was a victim and this made Rexy unhappy so he choose to come to Malaysia.
     
  9. alfa-2

    alfa-2 Regular Member

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    just some of them, most of the English ppl i know is very nice and polite......Those who were mentioned here in the intereview should represent a very small part of English ppl only.
     
  10. bad_fanatic

    bad_fanatic Regular Member

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    I agree and in the interview, they did say that it was some kids/children that treated her father bad. They're kids and kids do some immature things so it's normal. Can't use that as an example to say Englishmen are bad.
     
  11. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Very nice & inspirational article..

    ..ixory, thanks a bunch for sharing that!(rest of article snipped for brevity):) :cool: Really inspirational article..I can surely attest his words as i had a pleasure to meet & chat with him almost 2 yrs ago, in 2005 WC..:cool:
     
    #11 ctjcad, Mar 26, 2007
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2007
  12. ixory

    ixory Regular Member

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    u most welcome.;)
     
  13. JaCk™

    JaCk™ Regular Member

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    rexy is a very professional coach. he gives his everything to his players even though the opponent is from indonesia.
     
  14. alfa-2

    alfa-2 Regular Member

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    i guess maybe INA is not writing his pay check. BAM is.:D:D:D:D:D

    He will be going against KKK/TBH when he coach for others later on.....What will happen on the court?? will KKK/TBH stil look for instructions from Rexy as usual?
     
  15. winnie

    winnie Regular Member

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    anyone know if they have renew the contract yet??
    i hope BAM would act fast so that they manage to get rexy to stay..
    it is not good to delay this altho his contract has yet to expire..

    by the way, thx yea, ixory!
     
  16. alfa-2

    alfa-2 Regular Member

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    im pretty sure he will stay coz he is quite happy with his current condition........
     
  17. winnie

    winnie Regular Member

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    nothing can be so sure.. not till he sign the contract..
    just like when he's in england.. he actually planned to sign long term contract with england but last min change his mind after meeting with TKH and also after knowing the bad treatment receive by his wife
     
  18. alfa-2

    alfa-2 Regular Member

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    meet with TKH then stay at Korea right?

    KKK/TBH oso from KOR......
     
  19. winnie

    winnie Regular Member

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    ops.. is YKH instead of TKH..hehe:D
     
  20. alfa-2

    alfa-2 Regular Member

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    hahahah...why are you thinking of TKH while we're talking about YKH???hehehhe.....
     

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