The Brunei Times
National shuttler Jasper Yu Woon Chai left Monday for Indonesia to train at the Tangkas Badminton Club. But the coach is also wary that Yu's move to the Indonesian capital will have an effect on the team's preparation for Sukan Malaysia (Sukma) at Melaka in June.
"Since it's so close to Sukma, about three weeks, I doubt that it will help but nonetheless it is a good idea," said the coach.
Yu left for Jakarta on Monday for a training stint with the Tangkas Badminton Club, which produced world and Olympic champions like Icuk Sugiarto, Hermawan Susanto, Joko Suprianto, Luis Ponggoh, Verawaty Fajrin, Rexy Mainaky and Lilyana Natsir.
"Even I, as the coach, would encourage my charges to take the opportunity when presented but it's all about the timing and I would rather have them train together as a whole," said Wahab.
Aside from Jaspar, also carrying the flag for Brunei in the Sukma Games are Ak Halim Pg Ismail, Ihsan Zainuddin, Md Syahmil Fajrin Wahab and Md Sheril Shahizwan.
Ak Halim is also undergoing intentive trainingwith Tangkas since December last year according to Wahab.
"I'm just worried because they have a different training scheme. It might take time to get used to the new training schedule unlike here, which they are used to that's fixed and ready," said the coach.
If not for Sukma however, Yu has the coach's full support.
"It's good for him as even we (JBS) plan to send talented players for training abroad. Indonesia is a good place to train since it is one of the best countries for the sport, with better and more sparring partners.
"Rather then sending our players to countries like Europe or Japan, we could just opt for Indonesia since it is also closer," said Wahab.
The coach also shared the team's preparations for Sukma.
"So far it's been good since the team are right on track with the trainings such as speed, conditioning and agility. For now, we're more focused on match-game training though," he said.
"They're definitely ready psychologically. It won't be the first time they have fought players of calibre," replied Wahab, when asked whether the young shuttlers are mentally ready to represent Brunei at an international level.
Taking into consideration the team's training which has been going on December, the coach believes his charges can fight for a podium finish.
"I think that we can get the medal but it still depends on the situation. Unlike other sports such as atheletics, badminton is not a sport that can be measured. Anything on the court can determine whether it's a win or lose.
"Moreso Malaysia is also famous when it comes to badminton, on par with Indonesia. Yet we're not going to let it get to us, we'll try our hardest to be able to win a medal," said Wahab.
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