Irwansyah: 'They Should Have a Positive and Relaxed Mind When Playing'
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27 April 2024 12:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian badminton men’s singles coach, Irwansyah, talks about the achievements in the 2024 All England.
THE performances of Indonesian badminton players this year have been quite impressive. In mid-March, Jonatan Christie faced his colleague Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the Utilita Arena, Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the final of the 2024 All England Championship. Jojo—as Jonatan is familiarly called—won in two straight sets over Ginting. The last time two Indonesian players competed against each other in the All England final was 30 years ago.
A month later, Jojo, who ranks 20th in the Badminton World Federation (BWF), won the 2024 Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China. He defeated the host’s top seed, Li Shi Feng, also in straight sets. The performance of the men’s singles players can be partly credited the guidance of the head coach of the men’s singles at the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), Irwansyah.
Irwansyah said that the improved performance was the result of a combination of tactics, physical training and sports science. He acknowledged that a training method that relied on science and analysis helped the players achieve the best performances. “We are no longer training to just sweat and pant,” said the 49-year-old coach.
Despite the recent outstanding achievements of men’s singles players, Irwansyah does not want to be complacent. He realizes that the performance of his players on the field is still not stable. Irwansyah tries to address this issue before his players depart for Chengdu, China, to participate in the Thomas Cup men’s team championships from April 27 to May 5. “Our preparations are solid, and we are ready to face any country,” he said.
Irwansyah received Tempo journalists after a training session at the PBSI national training center (pelatnas) in Cipayung, East Jakarta, on Monday, April 1. He also talked about the target for men’s singles players in the Paris 2024 Olympics taking place in July-August. Excerpts of the interview:
Congratulations on the wins in the recent men’s singles competitions. Are you satisfied with your players’ achievements?
In terms of performance, their quality is already good. However, I do not dare say right away that they would definitely win because everything depends greatly on the situation in the field. In All England, Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting met with great opponents from the first round. They delivered solid performances since the first match.
