Asian Games 2018: Hong Kong’s badminton players preparing for ‘hell like’ atmosphere in Indonesia

The pair, ranked fourth in the world, is a major medal hope for Hong Kong when badminton kicks off at Gelora Bung Karno Sports Palace next month.

The 7,000-seater facility has been dubbed a “hell like venue” by many visiting players because of the noise created by the patriotic Indonesian spectators.

“They have been training with music in the background for more than a week, not for any added entertainment, but to try to adapt to the environment they could encounter at the Asian Games,” said head coach Tim He Yiming.

“Many players find it difficult to keep their concentration when they play in the Jakarta venue. This happened many times before including this year’s Indonesia Masters in January and last month’s Indonesia Open.

“We turn on the music when the pair train, trying to distract them as much as possible and hopefully it can help improve their preparedness when they play in the Asian Games.”