No ruthless training by Hendrawan from the start
National singles coach Hendrawan knows just how difficult it will be for the shuttlers to start all over again after a long break.
With that in mind, he has lowered his expectations as the Road to Tokyo (RTT) shuttlers reported for their one-month training in isolation at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
Hendrawan will be training Lee Zii Jia and Cheam June Wei for a start and does not want to risk any player getting injured.
“I’m not going to push them right away. It will take some time before I go aggressive in training,” said Hendrawan, who has won the world title, Olympics silver and Thomas Cup titles during his playing days.
“I remember from my days as a player that the hardest part is to play after a long break. I was injured after the 2002 Thomas Cup and was out for one and half months.
“Pushing myself physically was not the only struggle but I needed to psyche myself up too after the long break. So, I know how it will be for the players who are making a comeback after almost three months.
“Usually, if a player stays away for a month, it will take a month to regain the old form. Fortunately for our players, they had done their physical training at home, so the transition won’t be too long.
“I’ll be more understanding. I know the players will be excited but we will not overdo it. We have a hectic schedule ahead of us but we will increase the intensity of training gradually.”
The other shuttlers who reported for duty were Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani-Goh Sze Fei (men’s doubles); Soniia Cheah, S. Kisona (women’s singles); Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean and
Vivian Hoo-Yap Cheng Wen (women’s doubles); Goh Soon HuatShevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles).
Zii Jia, Aaron-Wooi Yik, Soniia, Mei Kuan-Meng Yean and Soon Huat-Shevon are under the RTT programme while the rest are preparing for the Thomas-Uber Cup Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Dec 3-11.
The shuttlers are back after all the activities at the training centre were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March.
The World Tour is expected to start in August if all goes well.
The shuttlers and coaches, however, didn’t sweat it out immediately yesterday as they had to go through a mandatory Covid-19 throat swab test.
They have been instructed to self-quarantine for two days in their rooms before starting training tomorrow.