Interviewing a god of badminton: Taufik Hidayat

Taufik Hidayat with the India Open medal

By 2005, when I’d started to cover international badminton, Taufik Hidayat had become a legend. Even as a teenager, there was talk everywhere of this phenomenon who could enthrall the crowds with his skills. There was apparently nothing he couldn’t do, and what added to the aura around him was his temperament. He had become a John McEnroe-like figure, possessor of astonishing skills, hot-headedness, charisma, and the rare ability to single-handedly carry a country’s hopes in high-pressure situations.

Every tournament I went, interviewing Taufik became top of the list of my priorities. I just wanted to know what the man felt on various issues. What did he think of Rudy Hartono, for instance? How did he handle the enormous pressure on his still-young shoulders? What did he think of the Chinese and his formidable rival Lin Dan? As a journalist, these questions haunted me, for Taufik was an enigma, not known to open up easily. Not even the Indonesians could fully figure him out, and there was plenty of criticism to go with all the adulation.

Taufik was a slippery subject. Often, he would promise to meet in an hour or so and not turn up. At the Doha Asian Games in 2006, I approached him with a request, but he was due to play a match and he barely acknowledged me. I was lucky to catch his three matches against Lin Dan – Lin won the two contests in the team event, but apparently Taufik was reserving his best for later. Girish Natu, the Indian official who was in the chair, told me that after Taufik lost his team final against Lin, he winked at his coach.

The two met again in the men’s singles final. What a match that was! Taufik mesmerized with his control over the shuttle and his sheer variety, and even the great Lin Dan faltered under pressure to hand Taufik the gold.

After trying – and failing – to get a one-on-one with Taufik in several events over the next few years, I finally got my opportunity at the Denmark Open in 2010. Taufik would lose the final to Jan O Jorgensen, but he carried no bitterness. He gave me an hour-long interview – my long-awaited one! It was then that I discovered facets to his personality that I didn’t know existed. For instance, I don’t think he cares so much about winning or losing as everybody might think. There seems to be a streak of indifference to results – the indifference of someone who is above mere results. Here is the interview again:

Your game is so complete, you have such a variety of strokes. Is there anything left for you to learn?

(Laughs). When I was growing up, my coach was Iie Sumirat, he was different, he taught me to entertain, to have fun while training. He taught me not only to play, but to entertain people who are watching badminton. I can do everything. But I don’t like watching the game. I try to keep recalling how I played my last match, but I’m not the kind who likes to watch others and learn from them.

You seem too laidback at times for competitive badminton. How do you maintain your fitness and competitive edge?

It’s not too hard. I train and play with my heart. If I enjoy it, I can play. If I don’t want to play, if I don’t feel like it, I think it’s my bad luck, and I lose. If I feel like it, I can do anything.

More than a decade after you started your career, you’re still leading the Indonesian challenge. Are you worried that there are no youngsters coming up?

Yes, but it’s the same in Malaysia too. They have only Lee Chong Wei (world No.1) Our organisation is not right. Right from the Thomas Cup of 2002, for Indonesia it’s been Taufik, Sony (Dwi Kuncoro) and Simon (Santoso). I don’t know what will happen. Of course I’m worried.

You are part of a great tradition of badminton heroes, such as Rudy Hartono, Liem Swie King, Icuk Sugiarto and others from Indonesia. How do you see yourself in that pantheon of greats?

I know the history of Indonesian badminton. But those days were different. If you see the video of me or Lin Dan, and Rudy Hartono, it’s like… they look so slow. It’s like football, you see Pele or Maradona, or now Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s different. The era was different, their style was different.

You won the India Open last year. Were you surprised by the adulation you received in India?

I’m happy to play in India. I was surprised by the attention. Badminton in India is growing up, because of Saina, Gopi and others. India is a big market.

What’s your opinion of Indian players?

I played three games with Kashyap at the Thomas Cup and Indonesian Open. He’s a good player, a rally player, like Gopichand. All Indian players are like Gopichand. But Kashyap is not stable yet. At the moment he’s a good player, like Chetan Anand, like Anup Sridhar, who came up and went down. I hope Saina can be stable. But we’ll have to see. She’s still young. I don’t like the China players.

But they have set the standard in badminton, right?

It’s like, when you walk on the way, they’ll pick you and make you a world champion. They’re like a machine, you know. Players have short careers, they last four or five years maximum.

And Lin Dan?

I have respect for him. He’s got all the big titles, like the World Championship three times, the Olympics, the All England. But he’s still waiting for the Asian Games gold. (Editor’s note: Lin Dan won the Asian Games gold soon after.) You must be lucky, you know. Take (world No.1) Lee Chong Wei. He’s got so many Super Series titles, but he never has an Olympic gold or a World Championship or an Asian Games or even a SEA Games gold. He’s not lucky. I’m lucky. You can win ten Super Series titles and nobody will know, but if you win one Olympic gold, everybody will know.

What does badminton mean to you?

It’s not my life. It’s something I love. It’s a way, it’s a bridge for achieving what I want to do. But so many players can’t make a living out of it. I can, so for me it’s a means to a better life. It’s about earning a living.

Do you still enjoy the game?

Yeah, I enjoy it. Sometimes it’s boring. In Jakarta I have family, I have a daughter. I have training every day. And during tournaments when I’m travelling, I miss my family, I miss my daughter. It’s so hard. But my family is supporting me. When I don’t have a tournament, I like to stay home, spend time with my daughter. Earlier, I could do anything I wanted. Now I don’t have so much time.

You are a celebrity in Asia. How difficult is it to handle that attention?

In Indonesia, badminton is the no.1 sport. In football, we are nothing. But in badminton, I have been world champion, Asian Games and Olympic champion. I feel normal. Sometimes I enjoy the attention, but sometimes I don’t have privacy. In Jakarta it’s okay. If I go to a smaller city, everybody will come up to me. I have to holiday in some other country.

You prefer playing in Europe to Asia?

No, I like it when I play in front of cheering crowds. In Europe, everybody is polite, in Asia — China, Indonesia, Malaysia, everybody’s talking and shouting. I don’t care either ways.

Growing up, who were your heroes?

My idol was Poul Erik Hoyer Larsen. Also, there was Joko Suprianto. Joko was a complete player, and pleasing to the eye. He was an entertainer. I didn’t want to be like Poul Erik. I already knew how to play by the time I saw him in action. I played him twice, I lost one and I won the other. When he became Olympic champion I was 15, and he was 32. So I know I can also win the Olympics again, although I’m 29 now.