Indonesian badminton star Taufik quits over coach disappointment
Indonesian badminton star Taufik quits over coach disappointment
Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
World number five Taufik Hidayat famous for his on-court
heroics as well as his penchant for controversy. This time he
decided to follow many of his teammates' footsteps by quitting
badminton to continue his studies.
The 20-year-old shuttler said his disappointment with coach
Agus Dwi Santoso's decision to pull him out of the six-star
Denmark Open scheduled to begin Tuesday was the last straw in his
decision to resign.
"I lost my motivation since coach Mulyo Handoyo's contract was
terminated after the World Championships in June. My parents and
friends kept telling me to hang on. But when Mas Agus canceled my
participation in the Denmark Open, I could not take it."
"It was just because I missed one practice session. I have
asked him not to cancel my participation in the Denmark Open
because it was supposed to be my last competition but he
insisted. It makes me afraid of my future as I have no more goals
in badminton. I decided to quit then," Taufik told The Jakarta
Post by phone on Monday.
He said that he had spoken to Mulyo before making the
decision.
"He regretted my decision because I was his biggest hope to
claim world titles. But he can't do anything as we're talking
about my future."
"I plan to continue to study here but I'm taking short courses
in the meantime."
Taufik has been coached by Agus since June but he preferred to
train by himself instead of joining the program.
"To be frank, I personally feel very jealous of Agus's
protegees like Johan (Hadikusuma). He maybe very disciplined in
training but look at his achievements. Why should he compete at
the Denmark Open? I have talked to training center director
Christian Hadinata about the issue but he also just focuses on
their attitude in practices instead of their actual
achievements."
Taufik -- who this year claimed the championship at the
Singapore Open in August -- submitted his resignation letter last
Thursday.
He had planned to quit in March after PBSI decided to
terminate Mulyo's contract. But he remained with the team after
PBSI agreed to extend Mulyo's contract until June 15.
Taufik managed to reach the semifinals at the world
championship only to retire due to injury when facing senior
Hendrawan.
He becomes the ninth player to resign this year after women's
shuttlers Ellen Angelinawati, Elysa Nathanael, Carmelita, Indarti
Issoliana, men's doubles players Eng Hian, Flandy Limpele, Tony
Gunawan and women's singles star Yuli Marfuah.
"People, specially journalists, need to ask PBSI what's going
on inside? There are lots of great players who would rather quit
in the current situation. Even Tony - the 2000 Olympics gold
medalist, 2001 world champion and still ranked first in the world
- decided to quit," Taufik said.
The two-time All England finalist claimed he had no plans to
play for another country despite some media reports to the
contrary.
He also said he was ready to let go of all the fame and luxury
he earned as a shuttler. Taufik was reportedly the richest
shuttler in the country with an income of nearly Rp 280 million
(US$27,700) per year from sponsorship contracts only.
Last year, Taufik reached the All England final, joined the
winning Thomas Cup team and won the Malaysia Open, Indonesia Open
and JVC Asian Badminton Championships and was considered the
country great young hopefuls. Many believe he could have been the
champion of the world.