Jakarta - National team manager Sumardji explained that strength in physical duels is one of the priority programs of U-17 national team coach Nova Arianto.
"One of Coach Nova's priority programs. Players must be strong in bodycharge," said Sumardji when contacted by Antara via WhatsApp short message service, Tuesday.
"Nutritional intake is taken into account and all players are required to go to the gym, under the direction of physical trainer Coach Sofie Imam," he continued.
At first glance, the U-17 national team players coached by Coach Nova who are competing in the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup do have more muscular bodies than their predecessors.
One of the videos released by the official Instagram account of the Indonesian national team showed a glimpse of the physical training that Muhammad Zahaby Gholy and his friends had to undergo. In the video, the U-17 national team players were seen undergoing running training on an incline that looked quite tiring for them.