Grooming the best in badminton

Jiang Yong Yi, who has coached several of China's best players including Han Jian, Li Yongbo and Gong Zhichao, was in Bangalore earlier this year to train players at the Padukone Academy. An interview with Dev S Sukumar

Bangalore: At the end of Jiang Yong Yi's three-week long camp in February at BPL Prakash Padukone Academy, it was interesting to see how the trainees bid him farewell.
The trainees from Pune -- Aditi Mutatkar, Neha Pandit, Sampada Sahasrabuddhe and others -- touched his feet to seek his blessings. The remaining trainees, from Bangalore and the rest of South India, gave him a formal handshake.

Although this demonstrated the difference in exhibition of intimacy between North and South Indians, there was no doubting everybody's gratitude to the kind of work the legendary coach put in during his short stint.

During those three weeks, Jiang played the role of a gentle but tough guide -- working on strokes and footwork, sorting out technical weaknesses, introducing interesting multi-shuttle drills, and getting the players to think as a team for doubles play.
Jiang has been coaching since 1970, and that experience helps him in working differently with different people. Along the way, he has produced gems of the highest calibre -- Han Jian, Li Yongbo and Gong Zhichao are his trainees. He has been chief coach for several years, in charge of China's badminton training programme.
Jiang was in Bangalore on an invitation from the Prakash Padukone Academy.

What is your opinion of Indian players in general?
I haven't seen much of Indian players -- I have seen Gopi and a few others. The ones at the Academy are all juniors, so I can't comment on the general standard of Indians.
From what I have observed, their strong point is their fluency in movement. But the problem is they are not fast enough, they can't manage sudden changes in speed, they start very slowly.
They have sufficient technique, but because they are not fast, the technique will not count. Also, Indians always tend to smash straight.

What are the basic principles you focus on?
To be good in badminton, you need three things: You have to be fast, you have to have good overall technique, and you have to have some special skill.
Prakash Padukone, for example, was very good at the net. Susi Susanti could play very well from the baseline.
Every player is different. Your thinking should change according to your opponent's game. Don't make mistakes, be patient and be stable.

What is the training regimen in China for the top players?
There is no special training for the top players -- most players train six days a week, around five hours everyday. Training hours are 6.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. After dinner, players get back on court for net practise.

Can you explain your training methods?
Training hasn't changed much over the years. Weight training has to be specific. If you want to improve your smash, for example, there's no point in doing just the bench press. You need to work on specific muscles. Long distance running is good, but badminton requires short explosive jumps in various directions. So one needs to spend time on that.
Mental training is very important. We watch a lot of video footage of our players and our opponents. Players now work a lot on visualisation to improve concentration. Every night, each player mentally analyses his game, and tries to find his weaknesses.

Do you use techniques from other disciplines, like Shaolin Kung Fu or Qi Gong, to train your players?
Oh no. Kung Fu and badminton are different. I believe in on-court training. The more you practise on court, the better you will be.

And running in the mountains?
A few players do run in the mountains, once a week. Most of the Koreans run in the mountains, to develop their legs and stamina.

What about food?
Supplements are very important. All our players take that. I see that you eat mostly vegetables. I don't think that's too good -- I recommend non-vegetarian food.

What are the attributes of a good coach?
If you get good results, you are a good coach!
A coach should have basic badminton knowledge and should know his player -- what his problems are, etc. Depending on what type of player he is, he should decide a training programme.

You are credited with discovering Gong Zhichao...
Chinese women are getting faster and faster. Most top women players in China are very tall and very aggressive. Gong Zhichao was short, but she was very stable, and had great control. She could also attack suddenly. So that's why I thought Gong would do well, because the taller players make a lot of mistakes due to their attacking game.

Wasn't her retirement premature?
Oh, that's a long story, I'm afraid I can't talk about that!

What does India need to do to catch up with the top countries?
The level of coaches is very important. The level of Indian coaches is generally low, apart from a few exceptions. You should improve the coaches' level. In China, every year there is a training programme for coaches of various levels. We have this programme sometimes at Shanghai Sports College, where I am in charge.