Taufik's allegiance with mentor earns Olympic gold

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Taufik Hidayat's gold medal success at the Athens Olympics can be attributed to his natural talent, a fierce competitive drive and a desire to prove the skeptics wrong. It also has something to do with his coach.

Arriving in Athens with the odds against him, the 23-year-old Taufik overpowered Shon Seung-mo of South Korea in the badminton men's singles final for the biggest triumph of his career.

In the tense final, the unseeded Taufik went down 7-1 in the first set before mounting a furious comeback to win the set 15-8. He then cruised to a 15-8 victory in the second game to win the gold.

To add icing to the Olympic gold, Taufik, whose off-court tantrums and criticism of the country's badminton governing body have often landed him in hot water, chalked up his first win over Peter Gade after six straight losses.

Taufik beat the Dane 15-12, 15-12 in the quarterfinals, avenging a particularly painful defeat in the All England final in 1999.

The Olympic gold is undoubtedly the greatest title Taufik has won, following his victories in the Southeast Asian Games in 1999 and the Asian Games in 2002.

Taufik's rise to Olympic glory was helped a great deal by coach Mulyo Handoyo, a fact the shuttler is ready to acknowledge.

"My coach understands me best. He has been my greatest motivator and helped me raise my game to a higher level. This gold medal is for my coach," Taufik said during an interview upon his arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport here on Tuesday.

Two years ago, the Olympic champion threatened to play for Singapore after falling out with the badminton governing body, the PBSI, over the exclusion of Mulyo, who had been with Taufik since 1997, from its coaching list.

PBSI terminated Mulyo's contract after four years and assigned his assistant, Joko Supriyanto, to take over Taufik's training programs in 2001. Mulyo later moved to Singapore to work as a badminton coach.

After Mulyo left, Taufik's career became a roller-coaster ride, as he experienced several highs but mostly found his play suffering.

There were discipline problems and Taufik's open criticism of PBSI officials saw the player banned for three months and excluded from several international tournaments.

Taufik carried out his threat to move to Singapore but was reunited with Mulyo only for two months before Taufik decided to return to Indonesia with a view to playing in the 2002 Thomas Cup.

This turned out to be a high point for Taufik, as he helped the Indonesian men's team win the Thomas Cup for fifth consecutive time. However, his form dipped in 2003 and the beginning of 2004, his only victory over this period at the Asian Championship in April. The result was that the once highly regarded Taufik went to Athens unseeded.

PBSI brought Mulyo back in February this year and the decision paid dividends, with Taufik winning Indonesia's only gold medal in Athens and continuing the country's golden tradition at the Summer Games.

"Many people criticized me and wrote me off. I was fired up to prove that I am still able to win," said Taufik.

His Athens victory was redemption for his disappointing campaign four years ago in Sydney. He was then tipped as a favorite after his Thomas Cup winning run, only to crash out in the quarterfinals at the hands of eventual winner Ji Xinpeng of China.

Born on Aug. 10, 1981, in Pangalengan, a small town in West Java, Taufik began playing badminton seriously at the age of eight. His father, Aris Haris, encouraged him to play badminton instead of soccer, which was his favorite sport.

He joined badminton club Sangkuriang Graha Sarana in Bandung to develop his skills, where he was coached by Iie Sumirat, a famous shuttler in the 1970s.

In 1996, Taufik joined the national badminton training center in Cipayung, East Jakarta.

He was recruited to the center after winning several local tournaments, including the Aqua Trophy Championship, the Aqua Master tournament and the Suryanaga Cup, all in 1996.

Only one year joining the center, Taufik won the Asia Junior Championship, defeating Chinese shuttler Chen Hong in the final.

In 1999, he participated in an International Badminton Federation Grand Prix event for the first time, playing in the Brunei Open. He won the tournament, defeating Chinese shuttler Dong Jiong in the final.

That same year, Taufik, then only 17, made it to the final of the All England Championship, where he lost to Peter Gade. He advanced to the final of the prestigious event again the following year, this time losing to Xia Xuanze of China.

"My next target is to win the All England Championship and the World Championship next year," Taufik said after returning home from Athens.

And Taufik knows who he will turn to as he gears up for these future challenges.

"I hope Mulyo will not be replaced. It would be deplorable because he proves that he can give me his best," Taufik said.