What goes into the making of a badminton champion? Marguerita Tan interrogates Singapore’s top shuttler Ronald Susilo to find out

Many girls find Ronald Susilo cute, and in fact the boyish national badminton player, who turns 28 in June, is signed up as a part-time model with Diva Models. Now that I’ve met him, I have to agree that he is rather endearing. Especially when he flashes his beaming smile or lets out a hearty laugh and talks about his top three passions: badminton, noodles and – sorry, ladies – his fi ancée, national table-tennis player Li Jiawei.

The Indonesia-born Susilo has been in love with badminton since he was eight. At 14, he moved to Singapore to study, was a professional badminton player by 1998 and an offi cial Singaporean by 2002. Then, in 2004, he single-handedly made badminton a hip sport to watch in this country. Not only did he succeed in becoming the fi rst Singaporean in 37 years to reach the semi-final of the hallowed All-England championship, he also won the equally prestigious Japan Open. Then at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Susilo and Li had Singaporeans glued to TV screens everywhere as he battled into the badminton quarter-finals, while Li did one better with a fourth-place finish in table tennis. We were so proud that the duo was declared Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year in 2005.

When I met him in late March, Susilo was already training for the Aviva Open, which runs from 1 to 6 May. This year, the premier badminton tournament has added prestige – it will be the fi rst world event to offer qualifying points for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Not only does Susilo aim to emerge as champion (‘That’s what motivates me,’ he says), he has Beijing in his sights: ‘Qualifying is achievement alone as only the world’s top 30 players get to play in the Olympics.’ What is the daily life of a national badminton champion like? We convince the unassuming shuttler to reveal all.

Mon-Sat: 7-7.45am

After I wake up, I do stretching exercises for ten minutes. Then I do breathing exercises with a special breathing tool that kind of provides ‘weightlifting for the lungs’ to help them grow stronger. I use it twice a day, morning and night.

7.45-8.15am

I must have breakfast and I must have noodles. Wanton noodles, prawn noodles whatever, as long as it’s noodles. I love noodles! [Laughs.] I eat it at the coffee shop with a cup of teh-o.

8.30-11.30am

Before training, I warm up with Thera-Band exercises to strengthen the arms and shoulders. Mornings are mostly court training which is basically playing games at the court where my teammates and I learn various techniques and practise multiple shots. Each skills session ranges from 20 to 30 minutes. If a competition is coming up, these sessions will be extended by 10 to 20 minutes, and we also watch videos of our opponents to analyse their gameplay. When training ends, we cool down by doing sit-ups or push-ups.

Noon-2.30pm

I usually have two portions of lunch, usually mixed rice and noodles. I love noodles lah, must have noodles at least once a day! I’m a very fussy eater. I don’t really like red meat unless it’s something like Japanese grilled beef. I don’t like beef rendang – I don’t like the taste. I like chicken and pork. I also drink a lot of energy drinks and consume creatine to boost my energy level.

3.30-6pm

The afternoon focuses on strengthening and conditioning. We run to build up stamina and speed endurance, weight-lift to strengthen the arms and legs, or we do court movement, that is, doing foot-work without a shuttle. There’s also gym three times a week. It’s hard work but we have fun when we get to play doubles.

After 7pm

I must have a big dinner. Priority is rice lah as I need the carbohydrates, with noodles being optional. Very, very seldomly do I eat snacks or sweets. I prefer big meals. [Grins]. After dinner, I just come home and watch TV for relaxation. I’m usually too tired for anything else.

Sundays

If my girlfriend is around, then I will accompany her shopping or we’ll just spend time together. If she’s not, then I will go out with friends for either a movie or play games like snooker, pool or mahjong. After six days of training I just want to stay away from badminton. Do I model on weekends? [Laughs.] No, I haven’t started that, as badminton takes up most of my time.

Aviva Open Singapore 1-6 May. See Listings, Things to watch.