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Indonesia’s men’s volleyball team has plenty of work to do if it wants to retain its Southeast Asian Games title.

Though the final squad will be announced by the end of this month, the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI) already has dropped Erwin Rusni.

National team assistant coach Dadang Sudrajat said the decision was taken after poor performances by the libero since May.

“We really feel sorry about it. Erwin is an experienced player and the team needs a role model, but age has slowed him down. We have no doubt about his skills, but he’s not good enough to deal with fast play,” Dadang said.

Erwin has played for Indonesia since the 1997 SEA Games in Jakarta, where the host came away with the gold medal.

With Erwin out of the team, youngsters Bagus Wahyu and Adi Sucipto are in line to take over as libero. Dadang said the move was risky as young players need time to gel with the squad, especially in a crucial position like libero.

With time ticking away until the Games start in November, the team is redoubling its efforts.

“We have made the training schedule tighter. Usually they practice twice a day. Now it is three times, especially on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It is important for the young players to adapt and be able play under big pressure when the time comes,” Dadang said.