City hires top coach
by Tien Thanh
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Confidence boost: Nguyen Tien Minh expects to take his game to a higher level with the help of new Indonesian coach Asep Suharno, who signed up for two years with HCM City. — VNS Photo Quang Thang |
HCM CITY — HCM City badminton players expect to improve their ability and take their game to a higher level with the help of new Indonesian coach Asep Suharno.
The HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has just signed a two-year contract with Suharno in an attempt to regain domestic dominance in badminton and build a pool of young players for future.
This is the second time the city has employed a foreign coach, the previous one being China's Yan Shi Qiang (2000-03), who helped Nguyen Tien Minh, currently ranked 8th in the world, to compete at top international levels. Minh is so far the only Vietnamese badminton player ranked among the world's top 100 players.
Suharno, who had a contract with the Singapore Badminton Federation until last year, will also help Minh become more competitive at international competitions like the Super Series and Grand Prix.
As the Indonesian national coach from 2001-05, Suharno has coached many big names in world badminton, like 2004 Olympic Champion Taufik Hidayat and 2004 bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro. He will be paid US$5,000 per month, the ever highest remuneration provided for a badminton coach in Viet Nam.
"Firstly, I will focus on improving players' technique and strength," said the 42-year-old coach who began his two-year stint as coach of the city's badminton team on Monday. "We need time to get good results," he added.
"There are many good coaches, but Suharno is my favourite because he not only knows to give exercises to players but also knows what players want. He is a world class coach and deserves the salary," Minh told Viet Nam News.
"Suharno is a world class coach and we hope to learn much from him," said female badminton player Thai Thi Hong Gam.
After a disappointing performance at the 25th SEA Games in Laos where he failed to win a medal, Minh has came back strongly at recent major international tournaments.
He reached the quarter-finals of the Korea Super Series 2010 and semi-finals at the Malaysia Open Super Series 2010, which helped him climb back to 8th place after dropping from seventh to 11th in world rankings earlier.
Suharno will lead the HCM City badminton team, which will practice at the Phu Tho Gymnasium, as it represents Viet Nam at the Thomas Cup. Qualifying rounds for the international tournament will begin from February 21-28 in Thailand. — VNS