"Prima donna" badminton stars facing axe

Malaysia's badminton coach has warned he may axe All-England doubles champions Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong from the Indonesian Open because success has gone to their heads.

Rexy Mainaky said he may exclude the duo from the Indonesian tournament in mid-May as well as other punishments, such as taking away their mobile phones, after a dismal performance in the Asian Badminton Championships.

The pair lost in the final last week after struggling through a semi-final match.

Rexy singled out Koo for his prima donna behaviour after the pair's "worst performance" of the tournament.

"If I don't take any action, it means I condone his actions and Kien Keat may repeat this," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

"I cannot accept my players being arrogant and Kien Keat must realise that he has a massive responsibility on his shoulders," he said.

"This is the pair we are grooming to win the World Championships and the Olympic gold in Beijing" in 2008.

Rexy said he feared Koo and Tan had become big-headed after their wins in the All-England Open, as well as the Asian Games, the Malaysian Open and the Swiss Open.

"People are looking up to them because of their successes on the international arena and the attention and praises are getting to them," Rexy said in the Star daily.

"If I have to impose any restrictions, it is for their own good," he added.

Koo & Tan political campaigning rebuked

WHEN, en route to a Asian-level tournament, athletes stop over to lend support to a political campaign, then we know for sure that we are aiding and abetting big-headedness.

This is what happened to rising men’s doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong prior to last week’s Asian Badminton Championships in Johor Baru, as they, along with a couple of officials, dropped by Machap which was preparing for a by-election.

While it is understandable that everybody wants a piece of the pair, we have to remember that they have to be nurtured carefully for, as harsh as it may sound, they haven’t won anything yet.
.
Yes, the Asian Games gold in Doha ended a long wait while winning three out of five tournaments they have played in this year is a great achievement but these are tournaments which other Malaysians shuttlers have won before, and on countless occasions at that.

What we want to see Kien Keat-Boon Heong winning are the World Championships and Olympics, which Malaysians have never won before.
While doubles coach Rexy Mainaky didn’t mince words in his rebuke of Kien Keat for his showboating antics in Johor Baru, he also made a plea that the invitations for the pair to grace one function after another, should stop.

Rexy was a winner as a player and he should know what he is talking about.

It is a fact that Malaysians are quite easily satisfied when it comes to the sporting arena hence the adulation that Kien Keat-Boon Heong have been enjoying since returning from the Swiss Open.

But, as Rexy said, the road to the World Championships and Olympics is one steeped in challenges and the pair have to remain level-headed if they want to emulate what their coach did, win both.

What Rexy needs is for the pair to improve further their strength and he also knows that the world’s other top pairs would have been doing their homework to stop Kien Keat-Boon Heong from ruling men’s doubles.

It is lucky for the pair that defeat came in the Asian Championships, a low-key tournament lacking the rest of Asia’s top pairs and they don’t have to look very far to find out how easy it is to get into a rut.

Also, the BA of Malaysia deserves a rap on the knuckles for allowing Kien Keat-Boon Heong to get involved in too many extra-curricular activities.

As a responsible association, BAM has a duty to protect its players especially as it knows that Malaysia will head into the Beijing Olympics with badminton as the only realistic medal hope.

BAM has no reason to bow to pressure and the players should only be allowed to attend functions which don’t affect their training and not make them swollen-headed.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong are a rare find and they must be nurtured to excel at higher stages, not allowed to be easily satisfied.

Koo: Worst performance of career

ALL ENGLAND champions Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong dished out a sloppy performance yesterday against Taiwan’s Tsai Chia Hsin-Hu Chung Hsien before managing a 18-21, 21-16, 21-10 win to make the men’s doubles final of the Asian Championships at Johor Baru City Stadium.

For the Malaysians, the 44-minute struggle was a rude awakening and their worst performance since winning the gold in the Asian Games last December.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong flirted with defeat until the Taiwanese started committing errors in the second game to spare them the embarrassment.

Kien Keat’s over confidence almost ruined the day for the Malaysian fans as the 22-year-old lost his focus and committed many unforced errors.
Kien Keat, usually reliable in crucial stages, chose the wrong moment to play to the crowd and this led to Chia Hsin-Chung Hsien capitalising on the situation. Boon Heong tried his best to unravel things, but Kien Keat’s erratic game led to the Malaysians looking vulnerable.

But Boon Heong managed to take control in the third game and this turned the tide their way.

An apologetic Kien Keat said: "This can be considered the worst performance of my career. I just lost focus.

"Maybe I was over confident. It’s a good experience for us. I was never under this kind of pressure situation before.

"I promise this will not happen again. My movement on court was so slow and I don’t understand what happened.

"Our target is to make sure that we don’t lose to a foreign pair. Now we have made it to the final. We are playing our teammates and anything can happen."

Boon Heong said: "I didn’t play well and probably my lack of warm-up led to it. We need to get our act right as Tan Fook-Wan Wah will not be easy to play."

An upset national doubles coach Rexy Mainaky took Kien Keat to task and told him to behave more professionally and respect the opponents.

"I’m unhappy with Kien Keat's performance and I’ve told him to forget about (winning) the World Championships or the Beijing Olympics if this is his attitude," said Rexy.

"Koo was over confident and it happened at the wrong time. We won the second game because the opponents made mistakes or else Kien Keat-Boon Heong would have packed their bags and headed home.

"Koo needs to be more professional and he must not look down on his opponents just because he has won big tournaments.

"Their training has also been disrupted by plenty of functions. I plead to everyone involved to spare the boys from these activities. Let's work together so that they can be focused on their Olympic target."

Tan Fook-Wan Wah, who had said that Kien Keat-Boon Heong are favourites, must be fancying their chances in the final after witnessing their struggle yesterday.

Star interview

Check out their interview with The Star below:

http://rage.com.my/media/media.aspx?mediatype=1&id=193

Question: What's your most important thing you bring along when traveling, apart from your badminton racquets?
Koo Kien Kiet: My credit card. Yes, I am a shopperholic! - depends on which country I'm going.
Tan Boon Heong: Baju, Seluar, Laptop.

Coach Rexy: Christian faith is my strength!

Malaysia's Timesport recently interview with deeply religious, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, Coach Rexy Mainaky:

Q: Who is your biggest inspiration in life?

REXY: My parents. My father (Rudolph Mainaky) was an all-rounder but his passion was badminton. My favourite sport used to be football but it was my father who diverted my focus to badminton and I owe my success to him.
My mother Venna is the person who taught me a lot. What are the good things we should follow, the bad things we should avoid and most importantly, she thought us the importance of being God-loving human beings. She always stressed we are not perfect but praying to God improves the virtues of a person. I also read a lot about the success stories of individuals and from which I gained inspiration.

Q: Your training sessions begin and end with a prayer. How much do you think religion helped you to become better — as a player and now as a coach?

A: We can have all the talent and work hard but there is something beyond us that decides many things. Worshipping God is the way I grew up and religion has taught me not to be arrogant.

The results were coming last year but I did not lose faith. I’ve always believed that God will answer my prayers and it has happened. Religion also made me very disciplined as a player and I was able to overcome many obstacles with (partner Ricky Subagja).

I am a Christian and Ricky a Muslim but faith in our respective religions gave us the extra strength. There were times we struggled in major finals. Ricky would be saying "Bismillah" when serving while I would be praying in my own way and it always helped. This is why I encourage all my players to spend a moment on prayer in their own way and based on their religious beliefs. When nothing works, faith in God is the final solution.

Q: What is your favourite past time? What would you do on Sundays?

A: When I was a player, my favourite past time was to have a game of football with my friends. Now it is all about spending time with my wife (Henny Mainaky) and my children Geraldine (nine) and Indonesia’s Christian Rudolph (eight). On Sundays, I’ll go to church with my family which gives me more opportunity to spend quality time with them and also to meet a lot of friends. After that, I normally take my family to shopping malls, movies or relax with them at home.

Henny is a good cook and a good meal on Sundays is also something I look forward to. I also make use of the time to find ways to improve my players. I try to visualise the plans of my rival coaches in order to keep ahead. I think along the lines of what would I do if I were Denmark’s coach and what would my strategy be if I were China’s coach? It is normally hard to get completely away from badminton.

Q: What is a perfect day for you?

A: Everyday is a perfect day for me. My routine is almost the same where I conduct training, return home, and have dinner with my family. Add it with time to attend church and time to catch a movie. That’s enough to make it a perfect day.

However, a one-off perfect day I’m waiting for is the men’s doubles final of the Olympics where my players end up winning the gold. Nothing can beat that.

Q: Who was your idol as a player and who would you like to emulate as a coach?

A: My favourite players are China’s Yang Yang and Christian Hadinata. Many would be surprised to hear Yang Yang’s name but I started as a singles player. Christian is probably our best doubles player ever and as a coach, nobody can match him until today. That’s the reason why I want to emulate him as a coach. If possible, to be better than him.

Christian moulded Ricky and me into a world class pair and there were many others who attained fame. As a player, Christian was a great tactician, calm on court, never panicked and destroyed the opposition with little trouble. He pioneered the modern game and we were lucky to have him during our career.

Q: What prompted you to create the combination of Kien Keat-Boon Heong and how much more do you think they can achieve in their careers?

A: I had seen Kien Keat in action (before coming to Malaysia) and even England players like Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark said he had a lot of potential.

I had not seen much of Boon Heong when I arrived as he was away for some junior tournaments. When I saw him in training, I realised that he was the ideal partner for Kien Keat and felt the duo could go far. I tried them out for the first time in the Japan Open and their performance (they lost in the final) encouraged me to play them in the Asian Games and the rest is history.

The good thing is they are just starting and they can win many more honours. The sky is the limit for them. As long as they stay level headed and don’t allow distractions such as money and fame to cloud their young minds, they are capable of winning major events, with the Olympics gold their ultimate target.

Q: What are your future plans?

A: I would rather not think about that just yet but coaching is expected to be my long term profession. As of now, I will be with the Malaysian team until the Beijing Olympics and will only think about my future plans after that.

Q: Do you expect a better contract (when the present one expires in June)?

A: We have achieved some good results and I will also be taking charge of the mixed doubles. It is natural to expect a better contract but this is not for me to decide. It is not good if I request a salary which my employer is not comfortable with.

Both sides must be happy with the new contract and I leave this matter to my employer, (the BA of Malaysia) to decide.

Close Shave Koo

Koo Kien Keat showed off his new look to his father Koo Chiew Wah, 60, and mother Tan Pow Chean, 55, after he finally came home to Ipoh on Thursday night. Koo and his partner Tan Boon Heong had vowed to shave his head bald if he won the All-England title.

"I got the hair cut in a salon in (Desa Sri) Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, at 3pm the same day we came home. I couldn't exactly shave completely bald because of a skin allergy, so this was the best I could do," Koo told reporters at his Jelapang house.

Koo, 22, related that he had often "experimented" with different hair styles throughout his life to find one that suited him.

"But I would say this hair style I have now is the least liked.
Nevertheless, this is the promise I made before winning the title," he said, adding that the first supper he enjoyed after getting back was his favourite
fried kuey teow.

Coach Rexy: Beat My Record.

Malaysian National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky has challenged Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong to better everything he did with Ricky Subagja. If the Koreans ruled the early 1990s, Ricky-Rexy ruled the second half of the decade and this is what he wants the Malaysian pair to do.

"I want them to do better than me as that will be my ultimate satisfaction as a coach. This is the same thing which was told to me by my mentor Christian (Hadinata), and it became my driving force. They have started winning but they must keep learning all the time. They have been on the podium and they must always have the desire to get on to podium again and again.The current 21-point system is not so much about physical strain but the mental exhaustion is great and this is where the motivation and support from every quarter comes into place," said Coach Rexy

Ricky-Rexy won the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 1995 World Championships, All England (1995,96), Asian Games (1994, 98) and were the World No 1 between 1994 and 1996. They also won 30 international grand prix titles. The only pair who can claim to have done better than Ricky-Rexy were Joo Bong-Moon Soo, who won the 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold, World Championships (1985 and 1991), the All England four times and more than 30 grand prix titles.

"We are still a long way from what Rexy achieved but what the back-to-back riumphs have done is boost my confidence. When we won the All England, I was satisfied but I never expected to win the Swiss Open as well. This has boosted my confidence and my target it to continue working hard and winning honours," said Tan BH, 19

While the Asian Championships in Johor Baru next month will be their next assignment, the major one this year is the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur in August 2007.