Tokyo: The Indonesian badminton team, which is now in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, spent four days of self-isolation by doing light exercises in their rooms while waiting for the COVID-19 test results.
Indonesian shuttlers underwent the COVID-19 test after they arrived at Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan, on Friday. They also have to undergo the COVID-19 test every other day in Kumamoto.
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While waiting for the test results, they were self-isolated in their respective rooms. In order to maintain the fitness of the shuttlers, the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) had instructed players to do light training inside their rooms.
“I gave warm-up exercises to recover muscles after the trip and improve blood circulation, including gymnastics movement with the Tabata method to maintain muscle endurance and blood circulation,” said the physical trainer of the Indonesian badminton team, Iwan Hermawan to PBSI on Sunday.
“I hope the team can practice in the field this afternoon so that we have enough training time of 12-13 days before the Olympics,” added Iwan. Indeed, the Indonesian team was able to start their first training in Kumamoto on Sunday.
The video above showed Indonesia’s men’s doubles team was doing some warm-up inside a stadium in Kumamoto on Sunday, and the World No. 1 men’s doubles player Marcus Fernaldi Gideon seemed to have gained some weight. That may be a little worrisome for the Indonesian team as the World No. 1 pair (Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo) was grouped with World No. 3 Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin Taiwan in Group A, while Lee/Wang are known for their physical fitness and powerful smashes. The Taiwanese pair has been in top form after sweeping 3 back-to-back tournaments in Thailand in January of 2021. In addition to Lee/Wang, the Tokyo Olympics men’s doubles Group A draw also consists of World No. 10 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty of India and World No. 18 Ben Lane/Sean Vendy of England.
“We have no control over the draw, and we have to be ready regardless of the draw results. We have to face it,” said PBSI’s men’s doubles coach, Herry Iman Pierngadi.
“It’s difficult to evaluate the real strength of our opponents as we haven’t competed in a long time. Therefore, we just need to be ready and always be prepared,” added Pierngadi.
Furthermore, Pierngadi would like Gideon/Sukamuljo and Ahsan/Setiawan (World No. 2 men’s doubles pair) to focus on the preparation right now.
“They need to stay focus in training and also during the match. We still have about two weeks to fine-tune their focus and performance,” continued Pierngadi.
“I am optimistic that we could achieve maximum results. We will review our opponents through videos recorded from their previous matches, and we’ll discuss our strategy just a day before the match,” concluded Pierngadi.
The World No. 2 men’s pair, Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan has been drawn into Group D together with World No. 8 Choi Sol Gyu/Seo Seung Jae of Korea, World No. 9 Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, and World No. 32 Jason Anthony Ho-Shue/Nyl Yakura of Canada.
