Indonesia MTB-Cross Country Olympic (XCO) National Team Coach Oki Raspati revealed two key factors that helped Zaenal Fanani and Muhammad Ihza win gold and silver medals at the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam.
“We got a target from the Indonesian Bicycle Sports Association Executive Board (PB ISSI) to win gold. We tried to run some programs, like how to improve the athletes’ achievements from the previous SEA Games in the Philippines,” Raspati told reporters at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday.
First, he said, the victories were owing to consistent, concentrated, and centralized national training. Although the Vietnam SEA Games were delayed, the training continued so the athletes could prepare well, he added.
According to him, athletes, especially Fanani, had high motivation after not achieving the best results at the 2019 SEA Games, which were held in the Philippines. He said that they were not disturbed by the postponement of the Vietnam SEA Games and remained focused on practicing.
The second factor was the great national training facility for athletes, with athletes getting full support from the sports science team, nutritionists, masseurs, and others, Raspati explained.
“Hence, we could be maximally prepared. We had the tools to measure the ability and power of athletes. During the pandemic, we know there was no competition, so we always practiced instead,” he remarked.
Fanani and Ihza agreed with the coach’s statement. They said the Indonesian Bicycle Sports Association strongly supported them during training.
“There were no problems during training camp because the support (teams) such as physical team, nutritionists, masseur, and all teams gave their best,” Fanani said.
The athletes will take a short break after the Vietnam SEA Games, and then prepare for the Asian Championship in Tajikistan, which is scheduled for July, Raspati informed.
“The training will continue for the Asian Championship. There are also the 2022 Asian Games (Hangzhou, China) and the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia,” he said.
Source: Antara News