Menacing pair: Herry Iman Pierngadi with Indonesia’s men’s doubles pair Fajar Alfian (left) and Rian Ardianto.
KUALA LUMPUR: There is no point in bringing in the world’s best coach if players are unwilling to change their mindset.
National coaching director Rexy Mainaky has issued this reminder to national shuttlers, particularly the men’s doubles squad, following the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) successful move to secure the services of former Indonesian supremo Herry Iman Pierngadi.
The experienced 62-year-old coach will officially begin his duties on Feb 1 under a four-year contract, thus filling the vacancy left by Tan Bin Shen, who moved on to join the Hong Kong squad.
It is understood that BAM invested heavily to secure Herry’s services, given his proven track record in developing some of the world’s best doubles pairs.
Among them are Chandra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan, the late Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan, and recent proteges Kevin Sanjaya-Marcus Fernaldi, who recently announced their retirement.
During their peak, Kevin and Marcus dominated the international circuit and held the world No. 1 ranking.
Rexy reminded the players not to waste this golden opportunity but instead to work hard and make the most of Herry’s presence throughout his tenure in Malaysia.
“We pray to God to change us, but we don’t change ourselves. It doesn’t make sense, right? The same applies to Herry’s presence here.
“Maybe the coach is experienced, but the players also have to realise for themselves. They have to understand the plan of the coach, then be part of the plan and agree with what the plan is.
“If only one side talks about the plan, but the other side does not agree, this is not going to happen. It’s not going to change.
“Let’s say we tell the player to use this tactic, but the player, who is now receiving offers from outside, refuses and wants to play using a different tactic. In that situation, there’s no two-way communication,” said Rexy.
BAM are also aware that Herry is a coach with a strong human touch, yet maintains strict discipline.
Therefore, the association will offer him full support for any decisions he makes if he finds that the players’ discipline is not up to the highest standard.
Herry has been brought in to help BAM achieve their long-standing dream of winning a gold medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
However, the governing body have yet to set any short-term key performance indicators (KPIs), as they want to give Herry the space and time to make an initial assessment of the entire men’s doubles squad.
“Herry hasn’t arrived yet, and we haven’t given him the KPIs yet.
“We will sit down, he will observe all the players, and then he will come up with his own KPIs.”
Rexy is hoping Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik come good in the All-England.
“We hope he can help restore their (Aaron-Wooi Yik) performance and achieve the title. Then, there’s the Sudirman Cup this year and the SEA Games.
“The SEA Games is very important because it will show us how far the players can go.
“This is something we need to address, and I will sit down with Herry, along with all the other coaches, not just him,” he added.
