Taufik's allegiance with mentor earns Olympic gold

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.