KUALA LUMPUR – Akademi Badminton Malaysia will be introducing a new training method for their doubles players this week.
Its doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky said they decided to bring in video simulations to their training sessions twice a week to help them identify areas of weaknesses and make improvements from there.
Rexy added that they hope it could be beneficial to top players such as men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah.
“We have started doing it this week and will see after the Badminton Asia Championships (April 25-30) if we need to do it more than twice a week.
“The video simulations will not disrupt our existing training programme as they are additional to what the players are already doing.
“Watching their own videos will help them improve their weak areas and we will then address the mistakes immediately together,” said Rexy.
World No. 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik created history when they became the first Malaysians to claim the world champion title last year, while world No. 8 Pearly-Thinaah became the first Malaysian women’s duo to win the French Open.
However, since then, the pairs have seemed to struggle with consistency.
During the recent European leg of the World Tour, Aaron-Wooi Yik had three consecutive defeats in the opening round of the German Open, All England Open Championships, and Swiss Open.
Pearly-Thinaah had two successive first-round exits, also at the All England and Swiss Open. Before that, they lost in the semifinals of the German Open.
Rexy, a former Olympic champion, stressed that the pairs should not let their big achievements hang over their heads like a cloud.
Instead, they should figure out how to do better.
“Our players feel pressured when they think about it (past success) and find it hard to accept. They do not want to be reminded of the past.
“But what we are trying to do is have them look at their past successes, accept that they did it on their own, and be motivated to do better,” he added. – The Vibes, April 5, 2023
