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.