It's Badminton World the show that brings you all things badminton from the four
corners of the globe
in the next 30 minutes we feature players who wish to earn their coaching
badge
once they escape from the glare of the spotlight, and a former world champion
who has
earned his badge plus the latest world rankings and results
only on Badminton World
A coach is the guiding light for any athlete
he or she is the tactician, mentor, confidante and organizer all rolled into
one.
In short a coach is the fountain of knowledge. Any athlete wouldn't want to
squander the opportunity
to have someone who had been in their shoes to act as the teacher.
It's no wonder that an actual step for shuttler to take when he or she calls
it a day to become a coach.
...exemplified by the likes of Lee Yongbo,
Park Joo-bong, Rexy Mainaky, Pullela Gopichand,
Kenneth Jonassen, Misbun Sidek, Hendrawan and Joko Suprianto, just to name a few.
Earlier there was Christian Hadinata, Han Jian, Yang Yang,
and Chen Changjie. If you turn the clock further back, you would have discovered the era of Tang Xian-,
hu, Fang Kai Xiang, and Hou Jia Chang,
all players of repute who made the smooth transition from player to coach.
Hadinata remains an influential coaching figure in Indonesia
having been one of the architects of his country's most successful
era in the nineties, which yielded a return of eight World Championship
titles,
and four Olympic gold medals. Hadinata
a men's doubles world champion alongside Ade Chandra in 1980
before carving out a reputation as a coach credits his success to the
previous generation of coaching.
"When you see the founding fathers of
badminton in Indonesia, there were plenty of them.
......
They were the ones who elevated Indonesia
into a prestigious badminton powerhouse."
Hadinata too has spawned a legacy that he can be proud of.
Among his charges was Rexy Mainaky, a men's doubles Olympic-gold-medalist-
turned-coach.
I made the decision to become a coach just before I retired from badminton.
I was constantly consulting Christian Hadinata,
asking him what does it take to become a coach. Sometimes I would follow him to
his training sessions.
Also at that time we had a physical trainer — the late Tahir Djide
He gave me a lot of advice on coaching. In the beginning
I used to have a hard time trying to contain my emotions.
When we were players we had no problems letting those emotions out.
But as a coach we have to be in control of everything,
especially our emotions. That was the hardest part for me."
Countries outside China
and Indonesia are also looking at creating a bigger pool of coaches.
Players who have gone through it are all of course the preferred choice.
England's doubles specialist Alexandra Langley has no qualms of making the
switch one day.
"I would like to go into coaching. I'd like to coach some young
players and bring them on and hopefully inspire them to play badminton
especially in England." All work and no play makes Jane
a dull girl, so Alex is hoping to be a coach who is able to be tough
and occasionally laugh. "Well my coaches are very good,
and they are very strict but they can also have a laugh
I think I'd like to be fun but also
be quite strict as well to make sure that everyone stays
in line." With former All-England champ Pullela
Gopichand as the benchmark, India's Anand Pawar is
eager to develop his coaching genes inherited from father Uday
"I think for sure
coaching as my father is also a coach right now and
he has his own
training centre so I think maybe I will take over at my own but I'm not sure
but I think I'm gonna coach for sure." The trick in establishing a successful relationship between coach and
player
is to create a balance between being a friend and the teacher.
"I think it's important to have the right mix of being strict and also
not being friends exactly but also being a
fun coach, it's important to have a good mix if you wanna be a good coach and
a successful coach so I think I will try my best to have
both" Having played at the highest level is a bonus for Pawar
with the extra insight knowledge Pawar will be able to impart his skills
in what could well be the difference between winning and losing for his
players.
"I think it makes a lot of difference if the coaches also played
at a high level
you know you can make a lot of difference in a match
with small changes
and tactics
and things like that so I think being a former player
will be quite helpful
you know quite helpful to have played a lot of badminton before being a coach."
For Irish shuttler Sam Magee who comes from the famous Magee family in Donegal,
he intends to give back to the game as a coach. "Yeah definitely that's what I wanted to do,
I want to give back in trying to coach if I can find the job
I think I need to start doing some coaching degrees
as I am still playing to try to educate myself more. I've seen a lot I'm gonna think I can help
the younger players coming through in Ireland. It's definitely the passion for me."
And Sam has a specific area that he would like to develop further when he
becomes a coach.
"I think the technique side of it. I think it
really needs to be improved in Ireland. I think if at the lower level if the kids are starting if they
can have a better technique then they will stand themselves a lot better
to be better senior players." He doesn't want to be regarded neither as a hard taskmaster
nor a lenient coach. "I think I'm
I think I'm in between I don't think I'm too strict down
I think I'd like to find a middle ground between both."
Badminton
No sport comes close.
"I was like.. Carsten Mogensen from Denmark
he has a really great style
else like Koo Kien Keat from Malaysia I think he has a really nice style
Definitely it'd be Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli from China we say that they are almost
two boys playing because they are so strong in the ladies' doubles
so it will be the toughest couple to beat
The best net player.. from Denmark I think Christinna Pedersen is very good
I think again Koo Kien Keat is one of the best net player in the world
I cannot say myself.. no just kidding I think Carsten
Mogensen has the biggest smash on the tour
I think we have chances to take medals to Denmark
I hope Denmark can bring home the medal" Coming up next what would be the most important criteria for
a player to become a coach.
Stay tuned to find out!
"Hi everyone. I am Chen Jin. We are now watching Badminton World"
Welcome back to Badminton World
Malaysian badminton players are spoilt for choice when it comes to getting good
training
as that many infrastructures as well as training academies set up in order to
nurture budding talents.
In fact in every school's community hall and playground in Malaysia
you'll find badminton courts. BAM which is the sport's governing body
in Malaysia trains the current squad at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara,
Kuala Lumpur.
Plans are underway to redevelop this existing location into a
state-of-the-art training center.
Malaysian players will not only benefit from this but it will become a badminton hub for
the region.
Besides the national badminton academy there are many other independent
academies
that have either been opened by our previous badminton players
or opened by multinational companies that have the same aim in mind
to turn our badminton players into international superstars.
There is no denying that Malaysia is truly committed in ensuring that they
produce world-class players.
With plans and progress made for the benefit of these players
one cannot deny the fact that one day Malaysia might be a hub for badminton
players from
all over the world to train. The possibilities are endless for this
badminton-crazy nation.
Back to the issue of players turning to coaching
A fine example of a world champion taking up the challenge of producing champions
is Rexy Mainaky.
The 1996 Olympic Games gold medallist is now back
in Indonesia as Head of Development, having journeyed to England,
Malaysia, and the Philippines as a coach. But it was not
all the better roses for Rexy. Here he offers his advice.
"If possible before they retire and decide to become a coach
they must study a lot of things especially every aspect of coaching
plus they must update the current knowledge on other methods
which is implying sports science in their training.
We must understand that because if you talk about eating skills and techniques
that is not a problem anymore. But now the main aim is to elevate player's
performance through sports science.
Half of the battle in creating a champion is one
if the player is committed to the cause therein lays the challenge
It takes two to tango. A coach's task is made easier if his players
are determined to succeed.
"It all boils down to our desire and commitment
but if you lose the desire then we wouldn't have
any commitment. I really emphasize on that.
If we talk about skills, yeah it's important but the main thing that I stress
on
is their attitude. Firstly of course it's discipline.
If there is discipline automatically the attitude
will be positive.
If there's no discipline it's not worth talking about the attitude.
So that part is important to me."
Rexy's sentiment is shared by 1992's women's singles
Olympic gold medalist Susi Susanti
For her it is all hard work and more hard work
plus a number of other factors as well.
"Definitely you have to work hard, you must want to work hard
you must want to train harder because there can only be one champion
so in order to be a champion you must train extra hard
If you don't go the extra mile, not willing to fight for it,
not willing to train then you would never achieve good results."
But a champion may not necessarily be cut out to be a champion coach
but for Susi it is a learning curve it's about processes
The process of developing human capital micromanaging individual
and implementing strategic planning and she is game for it.
"For me
everything needs process. It's a constant learning curve
because when we were players everything was done for us
but as coaches we need lead everything out for the players
so it's a process of learning how to manage
each player, learning how to analyze players' style of playing,
and tailoring their training. You must also strategize and plan
Plan their training sessions, focus on their weaknesses
all of which must be analyzed."
An active senior play toying with the idea of coaching is Vita Marissa.
The doubles specialist wants to make a difference as a coach.
"If I have the chance I would like to try other fields
but because it's my hobby I may turn to coaching."
She talks about polo and the need to make her charges feel comfortable with
her the day she decides to be a coach
"If I become a coach
my training methods will be different from other players
For me I want the players to be at ease when I train them
I want to be close to my players."
The process of creating champions is not as simple as ABC
but with an athlete-centred, coach-focused concept
the challenge is much easier to deal with. Having an ex-shuttler sharing his or her
decades of experience
with their charges, it's definitely the way forward. Badminton
No sport comes close.
Sometimes before a match a shuttler's mental state is as taut
as it is fragile. Under the circumstances locker room ritual seems crucial
It's like a great big match sticks structure if every piece is not
symmetrically in place
it can all fall down. We spoke to a few former players on their rituals
ahead of the game. "Right before I went
on if I knew that the crowd was gonna be
tough on me ...... welcome to the jungle
because you know it's you against the crowd and you have to
kinda blank that out so I'll be hearing that while I was playing
and then otherwise it will be probably Metallica
...as a little bit you know
you against everybody else that's the kind of music so it just got me into that
frame of mind."
"I would pray that I will only play well. I will not pray for a win.
Just that I will play well.
If I asked for a win, my opponent will also pray for a win
this would result in the All Mighty getting confused
not knowing who to give the win to so i will
pray to only play well because if I play well
the likelihood that I can win is there."
"Introduce myself to
music, to yoga, to breathing, to alternate
the methods of improving performance
whether it is the mental strength or different things
so it really helped me when I were a bit tight"
"If there is a big match coming or if I'm playing the next day
I will go shopping or for excursions. I will just take it easy."
Coming up on Badminton World
results of the Li-Ning Singapore Open plus we speak to a former world champion
bidding to coach China's top women's singles
"My name is
Misaki Matsutomo. This is Badminton World"
Welcome back to the Badminton World
Li-Ning Singapore Open in June became a platform for Indonesia and China
to share honours. Indonesia bagged 3 while China took home two categories at the
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir started the final day well for Indonesia
by lifting the mixed doubles' after defeating South Korea's
Yoo Yeon-seong
and Eom Hye-won. Then Tommy Sugiarto fully capitalized on the
absence of Lin Dan, Chen Long and Lee Chong Wei
to take the men's singles title his first Super Series victory
Playing his first Super Series final
Tommy, son of 1983 World Champion Icuk, shocked defending champion Boonsak
Ponsana of Thailand
while in the women's singles Wang Yihan beat compatriot Li Xuerui 21-18, 21-12
and in the women's doubles final China's Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei maintained
their reputation as the pair to beat
as the Olympic champions overcame Japan's Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka
Takahashi. Indonesia's third win came from Mohammad Ahsan and
Hendra Setiawan who
repeated their win on home ground by defeating Korea's top pair
Now let's take a peek at the world rankings after the Singapore Open
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei retains his number one spot in the men's singles
and for the first time Tommy Sugiarto join the big boys in the top 10
after streak of excellent play. In the women's singles Li Xuerui still reigns
supreme with compatriot Wang
Yihan at number two after going up three spots
Saina Nehwal climbed one spot to number three while Juliane Schenk
dropped to number four
Thai sensation Ratchanok Intanon went down two places to take number five
Despite losing both the Djarum Indonesia Open and Singapore Open finals to the
same pair
Ko Sung Hyun and Lee Yong Dae are firmly on top of the men's doubles
section, there are no changes in the top 5 men's doubles. The same goes for the
women's doubles
no changes in the lineup with Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang remain on top
and it's also the same in the mixed doubles the top five pairs remain
unchanged
with China's Xu Chen and Ma Jin sitting pretty at the top
Next month all eyes will focus on Guangzhou China
as top shuttlers battle for honours at the BWF World Championships from August
5th
till the 11th. A month after that is the BWF World Senior Championships to be held
at Ankara Turkey from September 9th till the 14th
At the same time the Li-Ning China Masters will take place at Changzhou
China
from the 10th till the 15th. This will be followed by the Yonex Open Japan
on the 17th till the 22nd at Tokyo. For more information you can visit BWF
official website
thisTmonth in our player profile we speak exclusively to Chen Jin the 2010 world
champion
who is adjusting to life as a coach. An athlete usually reaches his or her peak
in their late 20's but as the saying goes - man proposes God disposes
just four months after turning 27 Chen Jin has quitted badminton
plagued by injuries Chen Jin who bagged the prestigious world title in Paris
in 2010 has hung up his racket but only as a player
he's taking the most natural step - becoming a coach
"The reason is mainly due to injuries I have sustained
I'm almost 28 years old and still can play
if not for the injuries." Chen Jin is now impacting his
knowledge to the women's singles team
in the Chinese national set-up.
"I had just retired from top of badminton action the experience I have is still
very current and relevant
as a coach I can share my knowledge with the team and younger players
so that they can learn from my experience."
Is the transition from a player to coach difficult?
"The transition is not difficult
it's a matter of changing my mindset to focus on the team
and not myself. As a player I only have to take care of my own schedule
diet, training, physical and mental well-being
As a coach the focus is on the team caring
and managing their physical and mental well-being on top of coaching."
Chen Jin has promised to be a coach who
communicates well with his charges
"I'm a more easy-going and patient coach
communication is important between coach and players especially since I'm coaching
the women's singles team
from a men's singles player perspective.
Therefore it is important for me to understand the character and temperament
of each of the female players
and communicate with them effectively so that we can understand each other."
As a former world champion Chen Jin cherishes his memories of
climbing the podium
he is therefore in a good position to elevate the standard of players under
his wings
"I'm very happy to be part of the China badminton team
To be in the team we share and contribute to all our success,
glory and failure together"
Chen Jin listed the 2010 World Title as his greatest achievements
"It has to be the 2010 BWF World Championships in Paris"
and he has little time for regrets.
"I can't say that there are any regrets in regards to the 2008 Olympics
everyone wants to be the winner. Beyond skills
winning is also based on various factors such as
luck and other existing conditions. I have done my best
and won a medal and I'm happy about it." And after having created history himself
in badminton
Chen Jin will want to continue making new ones for badminton China
Badminton World wishes him the best of luck. That's all the time we have for
you this month
with the exception of this month selected Super Series moments
don't forget if you have a favorite Super Series moment of your own
send it over to badmintonworld@totalsportsasia.com
and as we say goodbye don't forget we will be back with more news,
profiles and interviews. In the meantime its farewell for now from Badminton World
it's the world we know