Taufik Hidayat

Taufik Hidayat - a player whom I highly respect for his skill *ONLY on court. I somehow or rather support him when he is playing with any non-Malaysian players because his superb talent really impresses me!

His key-word to his success : DETERMINATION and MOTIVATION

From my observation, so far he has managed to get what he wants in his career if he has the determination. He is the one whom I refer to as a player who knows what he wishes and goes all out to achieve it (often succeeds in doing it) :-

2002 Asian Games @ Busan, Korea
In the team event where Indonesian vs. the home team, South Korea, several controversial happened which was caused by the biased line judges. The call was clearly unfair to Taufik, not once, not twice, but for umpteen times which made Taufik stormed out of the court for an hour or two (can't remember) before he was called back to resume his game. Of course, his emotion took control of him which made him lost to the Korean singles player narrowly. Later, Indonesia took home the silver while South Korea got the gold.
            Then, in the individual event, Taufik had a point to prove i.e. he wanted make sure that the Koreans were wrong. He then became the Men's Singles' gold medalist by beating another Korean player in an easy straight game. After winning, he vowed not to play in Korea anymore in future (I have yet to check whether Taufik is really keeping his words or not)
            Many disagreed Taufik's action of stopping in the middle of his game. It was a debatable topic at that time. Some commented that it was a TEAM event, therefore Taufik should have continued rather than being selfish. As for me, I somehow or rather supported Taufik's decision because the biased linesmen had already gone beyond the limit!

Indonesia Open
He is determined to break the record of his fellow Indonesian Ardy Wiranata's 6 straight Indonesian Open title. So far, he has managed to win 5 consecutive years already since 1999.

2004 Athens Olympic Games
Four years ago, he became the youngest first seed in the Olympic Games. He tumbled in one of the early rounds. In Athens, no one expected him to bring Indonesia's glory in badminton, no Indonesians at home got the chance to witness his memorable moment of clinching the gold medal as there were no live telecast then. He wanted to prove to every walk of life that he is still capable of walking tall in the world of badminton. And finally, he did it by beating a strong player in every round, Peter Gade, Wong Choong Hann and finally Shon Seung Mo in his own style during the gold medal match. The entire match was as if seeing Taufik toying around with the shuttle cock, leaving Seung Mo having a hard time returning Taufik's shots properly. His face showed no emotion throughout the final and when he won, he broke down into tears. It was indeed a very, very sweet victory for him.

2005 Sudirman Cup
He proved me wrong this time. The tie between him and Lin Dan in the Sudirman Cup final was the most anticipated match of the event because it was the world number 1 vs the Olympic champion. When interviewed, Taufik vowed to defeat Lin Dan in front of his opponent's home ground. According to a report, Taufik stated that he could not accept the nickname of Super Dan because he hasn't really won BIG tournament yet. That's a bit cocky, I would say. But to really voice out his view of wanting to beat Lin Dan was definitely acceptable because it was an act of confidence. If there was anyone who wanted to place any bet with me on this tie, I would be on Taufik's side based on his achievements so far.
        Luckilly, I didn't bet anything or else my fortunes would have been gone. Taufik lost in straight sets to Lin Dan. As far as I can remember, the first set went point to point and Taufik even had the game-point in his hand but Lin Dan eventually caught up to take up the first game. The second set however was a let down because Taufik did not show much fighting spirit. I have no idea what he was thinking but I certainly wish him all the best in his future in badminton because he is certainly an interesting guy on court to watch.

2005 World Championship
Back on track! Taufik is the new 2005 World Champion! In fact, he has grown to become a more humble person so it is indeed a sweet victory for him by beating Lin Dan. Again, this proves that the Olympic Champion is slightly better than the world number 1. He is now holding the major titles and is eyeing on the All England title next year to become the first men's singles player to have the 3 major titles at a time.

Next aim : 2005 World Championship and All England Title. We'll see if he can win these two.