Shah Alam: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director of the doubles department Rexy Mainaky has warned that even though Japan only sent its young and second-tier players to the 2022 Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC), the Malaysian team shouldn’t underestimate the Japanese team.
“Our players are more experienced and we need to take advantage of that to seal the victory,” said Mainaky.
“However, our players must stay focused in both the singles and doubles. If we can do that, I think we should be fine against Japan,” added Mainaky.
Meanwhile, the presence of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics men’s doubles gold medalist has started to show a positive impact on Malaysia’s doubles players.
The World No. 92 women’s doubles pair – Anna Cheong Ching Yik/Teoh Mei Xing were among those who benefited from Mainaky’s guidance.
“Coach Rexy has been very helpful in terms of strengthening our physical strength,” said Teoh.
“In fact, I think every doubles player has shown improvement due to his heavy training method. Our physical condition is getting much better,” added Teoh.
“We are happy because we now have a coach who pushes us to reach our maximum potential in training,” continued Teoh.
Anna Cheong said that Rexy has extended their morning training session from 6.30 am to 11.30 am.
“Rexy keeps us focused on training. We are slowly adjusting to his training sessions,” said Cheong.
“I’m confident with a tough training routine, we can get better. We believe it will help us improve our performance,” added Cheong.
