KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — New national men’s doubles head coach Herry Iman Pierngadi has a plan to tweak Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s playing style to take their game up a notch ahead of the 2025 All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham from March 11-16.
However, the Indonesian coach admitted that it won’t be a quick fix.
“They will definitely need time. We have to take it slowly and hope to see a change in their playing style at the All England,” he told reporters after a training session here today.
The coach, better known as Herry IP, is trying to get Aaron and Wooi Yik to be more aggressive and adapt to a new trend in doubles action by focusing on the drive (a quick, flat and powerful counter-attacking shot that can be either a backhanded or forehanded shot).
He also described the national men’s doubles pairs had shown good progress since he officially took charge at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Feb 1.
“Looking at the way they used to play, they are used to lifting the shuttle high but that’s not a method I subscribe to. So, I have to force them (not to do so) and in the past week, they have shown good progress,” said Herry, who is nicknamed the ‘Fire Dragon’’.
The coach was also quick to admit that the is still a wide gap between 2024 World Junior Badminton Championships (WJC) boys’ doubles champions Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai and the senior pairs at the ABM.
However, Herry is optimistic that the youngsters can close the gap by constantly training with the seniors and he also hopes that Khai Xing-Aaron can qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“They are smart and have potential. So, we must protect them… don’t let them get injured,” he said.
Herry, who has been given a four-year contract by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), is a high-profile coach renowned for his “Midas” touch in forging world-class Indonesian pairs.
He has been credited with producing top pairs who have gone on to become Olympic champions, like Candra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan (Sydney 2000) and Hendra Setiawan-Markis Kido (Beijing 2008).
This is the first time that the 62-year-old coach has taken his expertise abroad, having spent 31 years with the Indonesian badminton squad. — Bernama
