PHL badminton hires Indonesian Olympic gold medalist as new coach

The Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) said they made the right choice in picking Indonesian Rexy Mainaky as the national team's new coach. "Subok na. He's tested," said Negros Occidental Rep. and PBA secretary-general Albee Benitez during Tuesday's PSA Forum. Vice President Jejomar Binay, who's the PBA president, also graced the special weekly forum, and sat beside Mainaky. He was all praises for the Indonesian doubles specialist. "He (Mainaky) will help us realize our dream. To get him was priority number one. By all means we wanted to get him. So, this is a milestone for us. He's our most expensive coach," said Binay. PBA officials were mum on how much is Mainaky's salary, but it's been reported that the Indonesian will receive $12,000 or roughly P500,000 a month through the combined resources of private sponsors and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). "(Mainaky) has the track record and we are optimistic. He is known to be a disciplinarian," said Binay, who was also joined by national players Poca Alcala, Marky Alcala, Theodore Co and Keeyan Gabuela. Mainaky, winner of the doubles gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with teammate Ricky Subagja, is optimistic to turn around the country's badminton program. "Hopefully, I can build a Philippine team for the 2016 Olympics. That is my plan," said Mainaky, who also coached in England and Malaysia. The 44-year-old Mainaky, a member of the Indonesian team that won four straight Thomas Cup's and countless other tournaments, had to turn down other coaching offers, including Russia, to be here. He gave himself two years to turn the Philippines into a strong contender. "If I can't produce then I leave. But badminton is not all about a good coach. It’s about teamwork." Mainaky will spend his first six months traveling around the country to scout for new talent. He hopes to gather as many players, aged 12 to 17, to form the juniors' team that should eventually carry the fight for the Philippines. Benitez, however, clarified that they have a long-term goal and two years will not be enough. He said they're looking at Mainaky serving the Philippines for at least four years. "We just hired a good coach and that’s the main plan. But we don't expect to win the gold overnight. It will take time. So we have to give him full support and hope he delivers," he said. — JVP, GMA News