It's Taufik's right to skip All England or quit: Mulyo

JAKARTA (JP): Former national coach Mulyo Handoyo said on Sunday that it was world number four Taufik Hidayat's right to skip the All England or quit the Indonesian Badminton Center.

"Everybody has his own rights. Taufik also has his right either to skip the All England or quit the national squad," Mulyo told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

"I told him on Friday to accept the decision for his own good but he insisted that he could not accept the reasoning.

"I also met with Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) chairman Subagyo Hadisiswoyo about the decision to not call me back. He gave two reasons; one, due to my comments on Taufik's criticism of him in November and two, due to my personal problems.

PBSI decided not to include Mulyo in its list of coaches, a move which was directly protested by the 19-year-old Taufik.

Taufik said earlier that he might quit the center and he would give two weeks for the PBSI to reconsider its decision. Otherwise, he would skip the All England, where he reached the finals in 1999 and 2000.

He also slammed Subagyo's move as "stabbing me in the back."

Meanwhile, teammate Marlev Mainaky said that he would prefer for him and Taufik to meet Subagyo in person to seek clarification.

Mulyo criticized Subagyo's decision, which Subagyo claimed to be educative, in banning Taufik from the Korea Open and the World Grand Prix Finals saying that, "it would be more educative if the PBSI banned Taufik from hanging out late at night."

Mulyo said he would not take any further action over the PBSI decision.

"They have decided not to call me back and I will keep quiet. It's clear that they don't want me there..."

The PBSI only summoned Agus Dwi Santoso as the men's singles coach. Formerly, Agus and Mulyo held the same position in the section.

Taufik said he would skip the first day of the opening of the center on Monday.

Meanwhile, Kompas reported that PBSI West Java chapter chairman, Lutfi Hamid, had urged the association to be wiser in responding to Taufik's criticism.

Lutfi, who is the owner of Taufik's club Sangkuriang Graha Sarana, said that both the PBSI and Taufik must seek a solution for their own good.

"Taufik is probably disappointed with the decision and he is seeking support from the public by staging press conferences. He was coached by Mulyo for four years and it's like losing someone he relies on.

"With Mulyo's presence, Taufik feels safe and motivated. They were very close for several years and it's impossible to cut that connection.

Lutfi said Mulyo deserved another chance to coach Taufik, especially after the young shuttler managed to reach the All England finals twice. (yan)