SHAH ALAM – National women’s doubles pair Anna Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing attributed their success in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) to coach Rexy Mainaky’s tough training.
Instead of worrying about winning a point in the tournament for the national women’s team, they said the 52-year-old Indonesian trained them to focus on playing at their best.
Speaking to the media after winning their match against Arul Bala Radhakrishnan-Nila Valluvan on Wednesday, the doubles pair said they did not feel any pressure to deliver a point as they were confident with their abilities.
“We didn’t feel much pressure to win because our coach didn’t want us to worry too much about winning the point,” said Mei Xing.
“He only wanted us to enjoy the game. For me, I was just focused on playing all out and I’m incredibly happy with the results.”
Mei Xing added that since the doubles coaching director joined the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in December, they have significantly improved their performance.
“His training is intense but he has helped us improve physically. He pushes us to the limit and it has made us perform better.”
The doubles pair contributed a point in Malaysia’s 3-2 win over India on Wednesday, which ensured them a spot in the semi-finals. The pair also helped Malaysia achieve the same score line against Japan the day before.
Meanwhile, Anna added that she too was happy with Rexy’s training regime and insisted that she is now a fitter and faster player.
“We hardly have any time to hang out (with our friends) because we would start our day as early as 6:30am. By the time we finish around 6:30pm and have our dinner at 8pm, we would be knackered and just want to rest and sleep,” said Anna. – The Vibes, February 18, 2022
