INDONESIAN Rexy Mainaky probably knows men’s doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong better than most, having coached them for seven years in Malaysia.
Rexy, who is now the Indonesian high performance director, said that whether Kien Keat-Boon Heong would succeed in the World Championships would very much depend on “what they want out of themselves”.
The second-seeded Kien Keat-Boon Heong will take on Hong Kong’s Lee Chun Hei-Ng Ka Long in the third round on Thursday in what will be their first match in the tournament after receiving byes and benefiting from two withdrawals.
Rexy hopes that the Malaysians would be fully motivated or “they may find the going tough”.
There’s a lot riding here for Kien Keat-Boon Heong. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) want them to reach the final, failing which they may either be dropped or split up.
“They’ve had an easy ride into the third round. And they certainly have the skills ... all they need right right now is to motivate themselves – that’s something no coach can help them with,” said Rexy.
“What do they want from the game? Do they want to come back and rule like before (they won the 2006 Asian Games, 2007 Malaysian Open and 2007 All-England in their first year under Rexy). Or are they just happy being where they are now?
“I really believe that they have a chance here.
“There are few things that I miss about Malaysia when I left – my good friends. And there are a few unfinished business as well, like failing to produce a world cham-pion despite coming close with Koo-Tan at the 2010 World Championships in Paris (where they lost in the final).”
On Indonesia’s hopes at the world meet, Rexy believes that Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan are title contenders in the men’s doubles and “we also stand a chance in the mixed doubles”.
He said that Ahsan had learnt the hard way that self-motivation was the key to success.
“Just two weeks before the Indonesian Open, he was talking about a back problem. For some players, injuries are only in their mind,” said Rexy.
“I issued him an ultimatum – either he continued to train hard or be dropped. He worked hard and went on to win the Indonesian Open title with Hendra.
“Now, he is focused. It is all in the mind – for some players.”
In the mixed doubles, Indonesia are banking on three pairs – Tontowi Ahmad-Lilyana Natsir, Mohd Rijal-Debby Susanto and Riky Widianto-Puspita Richi Dili, who have all made it to the third round.
Rexy also revealed that he had given an ultimatum to two senior men’s singles players – Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Simon Santoso.
“They’ve become pampered and spoilt. Both had a semi-final target here but lost in the first round. We have banned them before from playing in tournaments,” he said.
“Sometimes, players need to suffer a little so that they will be motivated enough to achieve their goals. We will discuss the fate of these players after the world meet.”
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