KUALA LUMPUR – Time has been the enemy of physical trainer Roesdi Abdul Ghani in his effort to enhance the strength and conditioning of national men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong.
Roesdi was the man entrusted with the physical conditioning of Datuk Lee Chong Wei during his Hall of Fame career from 2008 until 2018.
According to Roesdi, he has been working with Tze Yong and men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao since August.
But given that the world number 15 player has been taking part in numerous tournaments to secure an Olympic slot, this commitment has restricted the time available for Roesdi to focus on Tze Yong’s conditioning.
“Tze Yong is always abroad for tournaments, so I have not had as much time as I would have liked to work with him.
“It was only after the Hylo Open in November that I had a huge chunk of time, (which was) around five weeks to train him.
“His regime centres around increasing his aerobic and anaerobic endurance as well as his explosiveness on the court,” Roesdi told reporters recently.
Tze Yong, known as a giant killer, has showcased his prowess by toppling formidable opponents in various past tournaments.
Last year, the 23-year-old not only took down Denmark’s top-ranked Viktor Axelsen in the second round of All England in March, but also unseated Taiwanese ace Chou Tien Chen not once, but thrice in Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Arctic Open.
In September, the Johorean delivered an upset against India’s Thomas Cupper H.S. Prannoy at the China Open’s opening round.
This pattern repeated after getting into the Arctic Open final and losing to compatriot Lee Zii Jia.
In the pursuit of consistency, Akademi Badminton Malaysia coaching director Rexy Mainaky emphasised the critical role of improving Tze Yong’s physical strength and conditioning.
Roesdi added that despite Tze Yong’s earnest efforts to build the necessary muscle mass, his current endeavour has yielded little results.
As such, Roesdi suggested the involvement of a dietician to formulate a targeted diet for Tze Yong.
“He has good strength, his previous trainers have done a good job with him. My task right now is to build on their previous work.
“But it will take time for that to happen, trying to find results in a short space of time is impossible.
“In the time that I have been working with Tze Yong, I admit that he has shown improvement, especially in his explosiveness.
“But he has struggled to show progress in his anaerobic capacity,” said Roesdi.
Undeterred, Roesdi added that Tze Yong has responded positively to his regime and acknowledged the areas that demand improvement.
“Every time we prepare a programme for him, we explain its purpose and focus, and each time Tze Yong enters training with a focused and ready mindset,” said Roesdi.
Tze Yong will kick off his Malaysia Open campaign tomorrow, facing Japan’s Koki Watanabe. – January 9, 2024