Fire Dragon Herry stays cool ahead of 'hot' reception in Istora for first time
Coach Herry Iman Pierngadi (third from right) with the players. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: For the first time in three decades, badminton coach Herry Iman Pierngadi will be sitting on the opposing side at his home 'Istora Senayan' in Jakarta during the Indonesian Open.
Herry, as the new and successful doubles coach in Malaysia in just less than five months, may receive 'hot' reception from his home fans when the competition starts on Tuesday (June 3) but he is cool with it.
The 62-year-old Herry, who arrived in Jakarta on June 2 (Monday), said he knows where he stands.
"This is the first time in 30 years that I will be in Istora but not with the Indonesian team...it does feel weird in some way," said Herry.
Herry, who is also known as Fire Dragon in the badminton community, has seen many Indonesian stars winning under his guidance at the home meet in Istora since the 1990s, including Rexy Mainaky-Ricky Subagja, Tony Gunawan-Candra Wijaya, Sigit Budiarto-Candra, Luluk Hadiyanto-Alven Yulianto, Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan, and Hendra-Mohammad Ahsan.
"But this is a professional job, and my allegiance is now with Malaysia as the coach and I've a duty to guide my players in the Indonesian Open," added Herry.
On Sunday, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik won their third title under Herry's leadership when they lifted the Singapore Open. They also had won the Asian Championships and Thailand Open titles.
Last week, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun emerged as the Malaysian Masters champions after beating Aaron-Wooi Yik in a rare all-Malaysian men's doubles final at home.
Malaysia last won the doubles title in Indonesia through Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari in 2008.
Hope will be on Aaron-Wooi Yik, Wei Chong-Kai Wun and professionals Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who had just last week attained the world No. 1 status, to end the 17-year wait for a men's doubles title in Istora.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
11 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Top seed Rachel Arnold battles into Asian Championships final
KUALA LUMPUR: Top seed Rachel Arnold is just one step away from clinching her first Asian Championships women's title after a hard-fought win in the semi-finals in Kuching on Friday. The 29-year-old, who captured the China Open last year, overcame a spirited challenge from compatriot and fifth seed Aifa Azman, winning 11-9, 11-2, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10 in a 56-minute battle at the Sarawak Squash Centre. World No 19 Rachel will take on Hong Kong's world No 29 Ho Tze Lok in Saturday's final. Tze Lok reached the final by defeating Malaysia's world No. 59 Yee Xin Ying 11-9, 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6 in 45 minutes. Rachel was a runner-up in 2021 in Islamabad, losing to Hong Kong's Tong Tsz Wing. However, she holds a psychological edge going into the final, having beaten Tze Lok in both their previous PSA Tour meetings in 2016. The top seed admitted that Aifa had pushed her to the limit in the semi-final. "Aifa gave me a real scare," said Rachel. "But I thought I did well to hang on and fend off her fightback to reach the final again. It's never easy to face a teammate in a tournament, and I'm just glad I came through." Rachel is hoping to become the first Malaysian woman to win the Asian crown since Nicol David in 2015 and is feeling confident about her chances. "I'll definitely need to be sharp in the final. I have confidence in my game," she said. "I just need to stay calm and play my game against Tze Lok."
New Straits Times
13 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Karateka Shahmalarani finally strikes gold
KUALA LUMPUR: The colours kept getting better for karateka C. Shahmalarani. This time it is gold. The Malaysian ended her gold drought at the Southeast Asian Karate Federation (SEAKF) championships by coming out tops in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on Thursday. This is also a timely boost for her Sea Games challenge in Thailand in December. Shahmalarani, who won a bronze and a silver in previous SEAKF editions, captured the women's below 50kg kumite gold medal after defeating Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Thu 5-0 in the final. The 26-year-old from Selangor said she is glad to finally finish top of the podium while the tournament in Brunei has enabled the national team to check out their potential Sea Games rivals. Shahmalarani said though she has been consistently performing well — including winning a silver at the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan, last month — she still needs to keep improving. "I'm quite happy to have finally won a gold medal at the SEAKF but I'm not 100 per cent satisfied with my performance. "My semi-final against Thailand's Chanyanut Chippensuk was much harder than the final. "This sport is quite subjective and the winning margins can be very close and there's no guarantee that you always beat the same opponents. I lost to the Thai fighter before in the SEAKF, I beat her this time, but she could beat me if we meet again. "I have reached the half way mark of the year with good results, the Sea Games is our remaining major assignment. We will head to China for a training camp next." Malaysia ended their campaign in Brunei with four golds in the senior category. H. Sureeya Shankar won the men's below 60kg kumite gold, trouncing Cambodia's Ly Kouy Ha 10-0 in the final. S. Thevendran beat Thailand's Ingloy Natthakrit 5-3 in the men's below 55kg final. The men's kumite team gold was won by the squad of Sureeya, Thevendran, M. Pavithiran, S. Geerijaieswaran Pillai and V. Logen who beat Vietnam in the final. Malaysia also bagged three bronzes, through Lovelly Anne (women's individual kata), McRoyce Donovan (men's below 75kg kumite) and the men's team kata trio of Luqman Syah Ahmad Jasman Syah, Aiqal Asmadie and Haznil Henry.
New Straits Times
13 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Aaron-Wooi Yik urged to snatch world No 1 ranking
KUALA LUMPUR: They may be good friends off court, but on it, the rivalry between Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani is reaching boiling point. And national coach Herry IP wants his charges, world No 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik, to dethrone compatriots and snatch the world No 1 ranking as soon as possible. Preferably, before the World Championships in Paris from Aug 25-31. Herry, known in badminton circles as the 'Magician', believes the Asian champions are in a perfect position to leapfrog independent pair Sze Fei-Izzuddin and head to Paris with the best possible seeding and momentum in their bid to win a second world title. There's a real opportunity for Aaron-Wooi Yik to overtake the top-ranked pair by shining in next month's Japan Open (July 15-20) and China Open (July 22-27). Sze Fei-Izzuddin will be under pressure to defend their points, having won both events last year, while Aaron-Wooi Yik are set to gain significantly, having not competed in either tournament in 2024. "Aaron-Wooi Yik are already in a strong position. But if they can become world No 1, why not?" said Herry at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara on Friday. "It will help them in the seeding and draw process at the World Championships. "Of course, it's not just about the ranking. They're preparing to do well in both Japan and China." Currently, Sze Fei-Izzuddin lead with 91,090 points, with Aaron–Wooi Yik just 1,220 points behind on 89,870. The China Open offers 13,500 ranking points to the winners, while the Japan Open champions will collect 11,000 points. Herry also believes that even world No 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun shouldn't be ruled out of the race.
