Rexy: Skills alone not enough at national badminton trials [WATCH]

KUALA LUMPUR: Doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky said today the two-week national trials for doubles players will not just focus on skills, but also their mental and physical strengths.

A total of 18 boys and 12 girls are undergoing match-play sessions, which began on Nov 4.

Rexy said that results alone will not be the basis for selection.

The match-play, combined with the talent identification (TID) method, will be utilised to evaluate the 30 players in the 14–16 age groups during the trials.

“We are not just testing their performance, techniques and individual skills, but also their commitment and attitude on court,” said Rexy.

“We also evaluate their ability to handle pressure and focus, and their communication with their partners is another important aspect.

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“Maybe they are used to their original partners, so we will also pair them with different players during the match-play sessions to see how they adapt to changes.

“They are divided into two groups. Group A comprises pairs who had achieved the best results during the BAM junior circuit while the other will be in Group B.

“Two bottom pairs from Group A will be demoted and the top two from Group B will be promoted.

“This will help us evaluate them further but promotion and demotions will not be based on results alone but other aspects which make a pair complete.”

The current selection process is in line with BAM’s decision to shift the national junior programme from the 16–18 age group to the 14–18 age group next year.

The two-week singles trials and TID will begin on Nov 17, where close to 36 players are likely to attend. The sessions will be conducted by national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen and his assistant coaches.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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