Experience is best teacher for Taufik
Experience is best teacher for Taufik
The Jakarta Post, Batam, Riau
Taufik Hidayat learned a lot from his disappointing flop at the
World Badminton Championships in Birmingham last June as was
evident as he ousted Bao Chun Lai in their third round match at
the Indonesian Open here on Thursday.
The Indonesian number 1 and world number 9, put his World
Championships debacle behind him, rolling to a relatively easy
15-4, 15-6 win over his Chinese opponent.
"I tried to keep alert against a letup. Being confronted
against a typically good offender, I had to do well on defense. I
ran to every corner after the shuttlecock," the 22-year-old
Indonesian said after the match.
He beat Bao with the help of home support at the Indoor Hall
of the Tumenggung Abdul Jamal Sports Hall and his determination
to amend for a string of failures before this tournament.
Taufik dominated Bao with cunning flicks over the net, energy-
sapping drives to the deep corners and occasional yet punishing
smashes.
After allowing Bao to take the opening two points, Taufik ran
off nine unanswered to take control. Bao looked out of sync with
many unforced errors.
The two players were tied at 2-2 in the second set, after
which Taufik again took control to win the set and match by a
comfortable margin. The two players had several long and
entertaining rallies, most of which Taufik ended with winning
strokes.
"I was really confident out there, playing before my fans.
After the defeat in Birmingham, I was fired up to take revenge.
Besides, I have been longing to give my best to badminton fans on
home soil," he said.
In the previous five tournaments, Taufik has only managed to
make one semifinal, at the Japan Open.
He skipped the Singapore Open last week. He will also stay
away from the next Malaysia Open.
"I will concentrate on the European tournaments," said Taufik,
who is hoping to improve his world ranking by getting into the
top five.
Taufik, now the only Indonesian men's singles player remaining
in the competition, still has a tough task at hand, having to
tackle Lee Tsuen Seng of Malaysia in the quarterfinals on Friday.