New Badminton Coaching Outfit Unveiled at Elite Training Camp
Jakarta. The Indonesian Badminton Federation, or PBSI, has formed a new coaching team for its national training camp, known as Pelatnas, a high-performance center for elite athletes.
The camp serves as a sports academy and currently trains 89 athletes, who stay in dormitories and participate in badminton exercises five days a week.
The PBSI has signed on 24 coaches at Pelatnas with one vacant slot in the women's singles category. All coaches have agreed to two-year contracts, according to Susi Susanti, PBSI youth development and technical head.
"Athletes at Pelatnas face intense competition and high pressure with promotions and demotions occurring annually," Susi said at the PBSI headquarters in Cipayung, East Jakarta, on Wednesday (04/01).
Some of the coaches are former Indonesian elite shuttlers, including Minarti Timur, Vita Marissa and Nova Widianto.
"We only hire local coaches we trust," Susi said.
The PBSI uses a two-tier system at Pelatnas to divide athletes, with the top-tier Pelatnas Utama consisting of Indonesia's top shuttlers, while the second-tier Pelatnas Pratama consisting of younger athletes.
The two-tier system did not exist during the administration of former PBSI chairman Gita Wirjawan, meaning that only 66 athletes lived at the high-performance center.
Olympic medalists Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir are among the athletes who have joined the training program.
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