Badminton: Be good to your doubles partners, says Rexy

KUALA LUMPUR: With just over three weeks to go before the Beijing Olympics, national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky (pic) wants his charges to speak up and be frank with each other.

Malaysia have two pairs in the men’s doubles – veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, who will be making their third Olympic appearance, and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong. In the women's doubles, the lone Malaysian pair are Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui.

“While the technical preparation is important towards getting them ready, it is not the only thing that needs to be done. It is also important that they feel good towards their partners,” said Rexy, who is assisted by Pang Cheh Chang.

“If they have differences, I hope they make efforts to resolve them before they leave for Beijing. I hope that don't keep things in their hearts. It's best for them to open up and discuss things that they are not satisfied with.”

Rexy added that he would refrain from piling unnecessary pressure on the players.

“I don’t need to remind them of what they are supposed to do because the pressure is always there in the Olympics,” he said.

“They are chasing their own goals for different reasons. I’m sure that all the top players feel this way in the Olympics because there is no certainty that they will feature in the next Olympics.”

Mental and off-court preparations will be emphasis in a two-day camp in Genting Highlands beginning on Friday.

“It will be a good avenue for them to get to know each other better. Usually, they go separate ways after the regular training. But in camp, they are always with each other.

“For example, the pairs not in the Olympic competition can share their personal experiences in beating certain pairs. Some tend to get the better of certain pairs but always have problems against some other pairs.

“Our seniors struggled against Japanese pairs in major tournaments but lately our juniors have been beating them (referring to Khoo Chung Chiat-Tan Bin Shen beating Tadashi Ohtsuka-Keita Masuda in the Singapore Open and Hoon Thien How-Ong Soon Hock defeating World Championships bronze medallists Shuichi Sakamoto-Shintaro Ikeda in the Indonesian Open).

“It's things like these where the juniors can relate their experiences and help the seniors to perform better.”

All the players featuring in the Olympics will be in training together at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara from July 21 before leaving for Beijing on Aug 4 for the competitions beginning on Aug 9.

The others in the fray are singles shuttlers Lee Chong Wei, Wong Choong Hann and Wong Mew Choo.

The Star