KUCHING: Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) will be acquiring the services of another assistant coach to boost the coaching line-up for the state shuttlers.
SBA secretary Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir said the association had planned to get another coach from Indonesia and hopefully he can come before the end of the year.
“With two assistant coaches helping state chief coach Dwi Ariyanto from Indonesia, we shall have a very strong coaching team,” he said.
Hadi said earlier this year, SBA had hired Rukita to help Dwi coach the state junior players.
“Rukita is only 20-years-old and he can also serve as a sparring partner for the state’s Under-21 and Under-18 players who are being trained for Sukma XVII (17th) in Perlis in 2014 and most importantly for Sukma XVIV (19th) in 2016 where Sarawak will play host,” informed Hadi.
“We are hoping that with Rukita and the new assistant coach, our players can be pushed to achieve higher level,” he added.
According to Hadi, the expertise of the three coaches will be shared by all affiliates of SBA.
“From time to time, we are going to send the coaches down to the regional centres to help with the training of the players there. Of course, this will be subject to the availability of funds and we hope that the Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) can support us in this aspect,” revealed Hadi.
He will also be holding a meeting with the coaches to discuss and formulate a strategic approach to train the state shuttlers.
Meanwhile, Hadi said Sarawak will be hosting an international competition in Kuching from Nov 13-18.
“We will jointly organise the Malaysian International Challenge Tournament with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and about 200 players will be competing in this event at Unimas Sports Complex Badminton Hall,” he said.
Rukita is also expected to play in this tournament for Indonesia or for a club.
Hadi said the first organising committee meeting would be held in early October in the preparations for the big event.