SMASHING THE BARRIERS



Inspiring youth: Budi (right) giving instructions to his players during a training session.



FORMER Selangor badminton coach Budi Rijanto is still searching for the right formula to develop emerging Malaysian shuttlers with the right mindset.

Budi said the youngsters here were not driven enough to attain remarkable results, compared to their peers from other countries.

“They are still not convinced that badminton and other options related to the game will provide them with a secure future.

 “They do not go all the way to fulfil their true potential and they will drop out after they have attained a certain level of excellence in the game.

“It is important to introduce competitive domestic leagues and regular tournaments to sustain their interest and inspire them to push themselves in breaking barriers,” he added.

Following his stint with the Selangor side, Budi has extended his coaching venture in Malaysia with the privately owned Michael’s Badminton Academy (MBA) in Bandar Puteri, Puchong.

Besides his coaching experience in his homeland Indonesia, Budi’s credentials include stints in Brunei, Singapore and Thailand.

MBA has also acquired the services of other Indonesian trainers to assist Budi in conducting ongoing training sessions. They are Alex Ander Tamtomo, Andre Wijaya, Erik Wijaya, Tony Galei and Edwin Dwi Prijono.

As a player in the industry for more than a decade, MBA has divided its training programmes to three main segments, focusing on juniors aged between six and 16.

Besides scheduled and private group sessions, MBA also offers personal lessons.

Currently, it has about 400 trainees training at the centre.

MBA is also considering to reward promising talents from its camp to take part in higher level junior tournaments in the region.

This year, MBA plans to have its junior players join the fray in a meet in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Budi said the up-and-coming Malaysian youngsters were not getting high quality international exposure.

“There are many potential players here in Malaysia. Sadly, they are not challenging themselves to step up.

“They need to move out of the comfort zone and compete beyond the domestic scene. We must provide them with valuable international exposure to groom them so that they become accomplished players,” he added.

Meanwhile, MBA continues to preserve its efforts to run the third edition of the “Hope for Change” programme for children from selected charity homes, which is expected to start next month.

Besides reaching out to potential volunteers and partners, MBA director K.C. Lee said they were hopeful that their previous sponsors would continue to support the community-based programme hosted over a 10-month period.

“It has been challenging to deal with tricky issues, including handling the trainees’ disciplinary problems.

“Providing transportation for the children from charity homes remains a stumbling block.

“We want to give them the chance to learn the fundamental skills and unearth their potential. We are not giving this up because we want them to learn the right values and build admirable characters through badminton,” he said.

Several of the beginners from the homes have shown promise after going through an introductory session.

“They need to increase their session from once to three times a week in order to keep up,” Lee said.

For details, visit www.mba101badminton.com.

By SCOTT LEE
metrospt@thestar.com.my
Photo by AZLINA ABDULLAH

KEJOHANAN BADMINTON TERBUKA REMAJA MSSWPKL 2013

The boys warming up at Pioneer Badminton Centre, Shemelin 1  Mall

This tournament was organized by The Kuala Lumpur Sports School Council which coincided with the first term school holidays in Mar 2013 played in the Shemelin 1 Mall. They were the same officials who put together the BAKTI tournament back in November 2012.

MBA sent about 16 participants (14 boys and 2 girls) in various age categories. Aaron was in the under 10 category and had a bye in the first round. He cleared the second and third rounds comfortably and surprisingly found himself qualified for the quarter finals and the last man standing from MBA. We saw glimpses of his opponent, a certain Justin Hoh who was seeded second in the tournament and immediately surmised that it would be a daunting task for Aaron to pass him to the semi-finals. In spite of the odds, we supported him with lots of encouragement.

The quarter finals were on the third day of the tournament which was on a Monday. I had to take emergency leave to attend Aaron’s match which will be played over best of 3 sets. When the game started, Aaron was already trailing 0 – 3. We could see Justin’s game was more tidy than Aaron’s. If only he was more composed, Aaron could make the score tighter. Half way in the second set, Aaron was clearly frustrated and began to get emotional. The match was already lost before the second set ended and he was in tears.

Aaron at Quarter Finals vs Justin Hoh

Ryan was in the under 12 category went down fighting in his first round. The brothers were also in the under 12 category in doubles and similarly fizzled out in the second round after receiving a first round bye.

Aaron surprised us with his advancement to quarter finals which was very encouraging but in spite of that, he still lacked competition experience. We will continue to work on him because he has two more years to reach his peak in the under 12 category. However, looking at the highly competitive field in the under 12 category, the 2 years which Aaron has suddenly seem like a very short time.

Results Boys Singles Under 10

1^st Round  :       Aaron Wong vs Bye                             

2^nd Round  :      Aaron Wong vs Tai Ming Zher                 30 - 14

3^rd Round  :      Aaron Wong vs Lee Qi Hong                   30 - 18

Quarter Final :   Aaron Wong vs Justin Hoh                     13 - 21, 9 - 21

Results Boys Singles Under 12

1^st Round :         Ryan Wong vs Wong Yuen Loong           24 - 30

Results Boys Doubles Under 12
1^st Round :         Ryan/Aaron vs Bye

2^nd Round  :       Ryan/Aaron vs Izz Adli/Yusrizal              13 - 30

LADANG HARCROFT SCHOOL SELECTION

Last Sunday, the school conducted a selection match at MBA to rank the school players for the MSSD tournaments coming up in April 2013. We were anxious because, it has been quite a while since we last saw 1st rank - Ooi Zhin Yang and 2nd rank - Lee Jie Quan, whereby both were training in Kelab Wira Tangkis Putra Jaya for one year now. Zhin Yang is now a Putra Jaya state player and is competing in the National Junior Circuit with Jie Quan following his footsteps closely. I explained to the boys the reality of what they were up against and I can only advice them to give a good fight and snatch as many points as possible from their opponents who were favourites to win.

Both Ryan and Aaron cleared their preliminary rounds with ease and were inevitably drawn to play with the Wira Tangkis duo. Aaron was up to play with Zhin Yang next which was a much awaited match by the coaches. Both exchanged base line shots testing each other out. As the match progressed, the difference was clear as the state player gradually pulled away with his superior finesse. Aaron tried hard to come back and managed only occasional winners for himself but it was not enough. His shot making was still not refined enough and committed too many unforced errors. Zhin Yang won the contest 30 – 14.

Next up, was Ryan vs. Jie Quan and this was a closely fought match. Jie Quan clearly had better reach whereas Ryan was often half step too short. However, Ryan could match Jie Quan in shuttle placement forcing Jie Quan to make dramatic dives, but Ryan still lacked speed and explosiveness in his game. Although Jie Quan made many erratic errors, Ryan could not close in on him and conceded the match 22 - 30.  

In the doubles, the school has paired the boys up for second doubles behind Zhin Yang and Jie Quan as the obvious first ranked. Even though the boys lost to their better opponents, we took heart that both Ryan & Aaron has come quite a long way since their last ranking match in July 2012 and many could see their progress since then. The boys team has a good reason for optimism since they have a state player in Ooi Zhin Yang to lead them.

Unofficial Boys Singles Under 12

1)       Ooi Zhin Yang (12)

2)       Lee Jie Quan (11)

3)       Aaron Wong (10) Rsv

4)       Ryan Wong (11) Rsv

Unofficial Boys Doubles Under 12

1)       Ooi Zhin Yang (12) / Lee Jie Quan (11)

2)       Ryan Wong (11) / Aaron Wong (10)

3)       Wong Yen Chik (11) / Tan Jie Yang (10) Rsv

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2013

CNY 2013 is here. MBA decided to take one week off their training schedule to celebrate CNY. The coaches simultaneously took advantage of this long break to return home to their families in Indonesia, which is a good thing. However, Chief Coach Budi was not in favour of the long break. He preferred to press his charges on, since the public schools were also closed for one week.

I understood only too well and while others took to the CNY feasting gay and aplenty, I have kept the boys well oiled with jogging, swimming, sparring at the Bt. Jalil Club and one session at Looi’s Badminton Academy in a pay & train package. I didn’t want the boys to fall behind with one week of inactivity – knowing well that their MSSD tournament is scheduled less than two months away.

When we resumed training at MBA a week later, coach Budi introduced an additional hand - Coach Alex to strengthen the coaching team. Coach Alex has a rather flamboyant personality and has livened up the training atmosphere which is also a good thing. He has rapidly built close rapport with both the players and their parents which is admirable.

As the result of the continuous training momentum during the CNY break, Aaron has closed in on the Intermediate Level Champion, Darren Tan. Last weekend Aaron lost by one point to Darren in a 15 point sparring match. Although Darren’s badminton skills are still superior to Aaron’s, but little Aaron has already raised eyebrows and kept many entertained with his crafty strokes. It will be interesting to see how he continues to close the gap on Darren.

Aaron up and early training at Looi's Badminton Academy on the 4th day of CNY