All England Title Remains Elusive Prize For Indonesia’s Best
Ami Afriatni | March 02, 2010
Taufik Hidayat wants an All England title. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal) Related articles
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Of all the major titles available in badminton, only one has eluded Taufik Hidayat — the All England championship.
Taufik has reached the pinnacle of his sport on two occasions, winning Olympic gold at the 2004 Athens Summer Games and the 2005 world championship.
But Taufik has never brought home the All England title, considered badminton’s most prestigious tournament because of its long tradition.
The 28-year-old takes another crack at the elusive championship when the All England celebrates its 100th year of competition beginning on March 9 in Birmingham.
“My ultimate goals this season are to win the All England and then the Indonesian Open,” Taufik said on Tuesday.
Taufik reached the All England final in 1999 and 2000 but fell short both times. He lost in three sets to Peter Gade of Denmark in 1999, and fell in two quick sets to unheralded Xia Xuanze of China the following year.
Taufik was the last Indonesian standing in the 2009 All England tournament, losing to Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the semifinals. Lin Dan beat Lee to take the men’s singles crown, as the Chinese swept all five titles on offer.
No Indonesian man has won the All England singles title since Heryano Arbi took the championship in 1993 and 1994.
“I want to end our struggle in the men’s singles competition,” said Taufik, who is seeded fourth in Birmingham next week and will play Hu Yun of Hong Kong in the first round.
“Lee and Lin are favored to win, but I’ll do my best and hope I can win this time,” he added.
Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan also dream of that elusive All England success.
Like Taufik, the men’s doubles players have won Olympic gold (at the Beijing Games in 2008) and the world championship (in 2007), but have come up short in the All England. The Indonesian pair did not play in Birmingham last year because Markis was nursing a knee injury.
This year, it is Hendra who might not be physically fit as continues to recover from a bout of dengue fever, which forced him to miss the Thomas Cup qualifiers last week.
Besides Hendra’s health, the two are also concerned about their game conditioning. The All England will be their first Super Series tournament this season, after skipping the South Korea and Malaysia legs.
Despite the odds, national team coach Christian Hadinata said it would be a mistake to bet against the Indonesians, who are seeded third and will open their All England campaign against Naoki Kawamae and Shoji Sato of Japan.
“I think it’ll be easy for them to make it through to the semifinals,” Christian said on Monday. “If Hendra is healthy, they could go all the way.”
Christian said he was also pinning title hopes on other Indonesian shuttlers, particularly Sony Dwi Kuncoro.
“I hope Sony will play as good as he did in the world championships last year in India, where he beat Lee in the semifinals,” he said.
The mixed doubles pair of Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir will play in their last All England together. After next week’s tournament, Devin Lahardi Fitriawan will replace the 31-year-old Nova.
“They have a chance to win the title because the draw isn’t as tough,” coach Richard Mainaky said. Christian Hadinata and Imelda Wiguna were the last Indonesians to win the All England mixed doubles title, in 1979.
The last time Indonesia won a title of any kind at the All England was in 2003, when Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto took home the men’s doubles title.
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