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'Don't forget preparation!' Liliyana counsels successors ahead of Tokyo Olympics
One of Indonesia’s legendary shuttlers, Liliyana Natsir, gives advice to her successors about handling pressure ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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Next in line: Legendary Indonesian shuttler Liliyana Natsir (‘second right’) takes a group selfie with fellow shuttlers Jonatan Christie (‘left’), Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (‘second left’), Melati Daeva Oktavianti (‘third left’) and Hendra Setiawan during a press conference for the 2020 Daihatsu Indonesia Masters in Jakarta on Thursday. The tournament will be held from Jan. 14 to 19 with a total prize of US$400,000. (JP/Ramadani Saputra)
H
aving competed at the Summer Olympics three times in her career, former top Indonesian shuttler Liliyana 'Butet' Natsir is aware of the stress on current competitors.
The qualification period for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will soon end. The Badminton Asia Championship in April next year will be the last event for players to earn qualification points. This has put real pressure on some of the players as they know their chance to collect points is coming to an end.
Liliyana, who won the gold medal at the mixed doubles event in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, understands that all Indonesian players want to keep the country’s badminton gold medal tradition alive. A succession of Indonesian athletes has captured the world’s attention by ascending to the top podium.
Since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, the national badminton squad has only failed to bring home a gold medal once, during the London Olympics in 2012.
“[I hope] that [keeping the gold medal tradition] won’t burden them. But they still need to maximize their preparation and seek a good result in every tournament,” Liliyana said on the sidelines of the 2020 Indonesia Masters press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.
Liliyana mentioned that the players had occasionally forgotten their preparation and had not maximized their practice sessions.
“These athletes have been thinking that they want to get the best result with less preparation,” she said.
