Summer Olympics 2000 Hidayat, 19, has become a teen idol

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Tuesday, September 19
Hidayat, 19, has become a teen idol
Reuters

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's badminton boy wonder Taufik Hidayat stormed into the world No. 1 spot just after turning 19 last month. Now the teen pinup hopes to become the sport's youngest Olympic champion in Sydney.

"I am aiming for gold. It's the greatest tournament in the world so it will be a very important moment in my badminton career," Hidayat said at Indonesia's sprawling badminton camp in Jakarta.

If Hidayat wins in the Sydney Olympic finals on September 23, he will be the youngest shuttler ever to stand on the top dais.

All three of Indonesia's Olympic golds have come from badminton, which was introduced to the Games in Barcelona in 1992. Indonesia have set two golds as their target in Sydney, with one hopefully coming from Hidayat.

The soft spoken Hidayat, who hails from a remote West Java hill town, is not worried by the pressure. Indeed, the baby-faced teen already has a cult following among girls in Indonesia.

"Since I was young, I never had thoughts of not succeeding. I always wanted to be a world badminton player. Nothing else," he said.

Despite being the world's fourth largest country, Indonesia have never shone in any other sport but badminton, in which players from equatorial nation have always been the ones to beat.

Hidayat first picked up a racquet when nine years old, a late start for some players in a nation passionate about the fast-paced sport.

Fast climb up ladder
National talent scouts spotted Hidayat four years ago, but no one predicted he would climb the ladder so fast.

"I didn't care too much about the rank. I just wanted to be a stable player at 20," he said.

"Compared to others (my age), I am not diligent. I only take part in routine practice. I rarely go for extra. So, I think maybe God has given me something."

Indonesian singles coach Mulyo Handoyo views Hidayat as a gifted player.

"He has tremendous talent and skill. He can adapt to any situation even when he plays more able players. Moreover, he is more mature than others of his age," he said.

"He thinks like a 24 year-old player. He can control his emotions and produce anything required from a champion."

Hidayat said he once thought about being a soccer player, but his parents made him change his mind.

"My parents told me that in Indonesia a footballer will never go international. They said with badminton I can," he said.

Talent on display
His talent showed in the last two major grand prix events.

Hidayat grabbed both the Indonesian and Malaysian opens despite a waist injury, crushing Malaysian maverick Ong Ewe Hock and Chinese star Xia Xuanze, respectively, in the two finals.

The results lifted him from number three to the top, pushing aside the previous world number one Peter Gade Christensen from Denmark, who had reigned supreme for more than two years.

Asked if he felt dizzy being at the top, Hidayat said: "No. Because it has always been my dream to be No. 1."

He is aware that it will be tough going in Sydney and respects all his opponents.

But coach Handoyo said only Christensen could stop him.

"Among the top players, only Peter can give Taufik trouble now. Both have very similar styles, but Peter appeared first, so mentally he's stronger," Handoyo said.

Hidayat and Christensen did not meet in the two last grand prix. In Jakarta, Roslin Hashim crushed the Dane, who then skipped the Malaysian Open due to his Olympics preparations.

The last time Hidayat faced the Dane was in the 1999 Singapore Open when he made an upset kill, avenging a loss three months earlier at the 1999 Sudirman Cup in Copenhagen, Christensen's home.

In the Sudirman, Hidayat, then 17, succumbed to the pressure and was thrashed within 23 minutes.

Teenage idol
Gold in Sydney would add to Hidayat's fame in a country where top badminton players are celebrities.

Mobs of young girls fill stadiums each time he plays on home courts. They cry his name, wave his posters and scream whenever Hidayat waves back.

He once appeared as a guest co-presenter in a TV gossip show and was rumored going out with an older pop diva while still dating Indonesia's young tennis Olympian Wynne Prakusya. But Hidayat has no problem with being in the public eye.

"I am ready to be under the spotlight because I've always dreamed about being famous. It's great to be known by people, but sometimes it gets annoying when fans hound you," he said.

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