TAUFIK Hidayat never imagined that the very sport he once disliked would one day take him to the top of the world. Born in Bandung on August 10, 1981, young Taufik preferred kicking a ball around with friends in his neighborhood over picking up a badminton racket. But a stern warning from his father, Denny Hidayat, changed everything, and steered his life toward the shuttlecock.
I didn’t really like badminton at first. In my kampung, football was the thing. One day, I came home drenched from playing in the rain. My parents told me I had to stop playing in the rain and under the scorching sun.
That’s when his father introduced him to badminton and enforced a strict routine. Before he could watch TV, Taufik had to do skipping, push-ups, and sit-ups. To reach his training center in Bandung, some 40 kilometers away, he had to hitch a ride, and then run 10 to 15 kilometers to finish the journey.
I used to be frustrated with all of it, but now I realize it paid off.
And paid off, it did. Taufik joined the SGS Elektrik Bandung badminton club and quickly showed extraordinary talent. At just 15, he won the 1997 Asian Junior Championships. Victories in prestigious tournaments followed, Indonesia Open, All England, and more.
The pinnacle of his career came at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Unseeded and underestimated, Taufik took down elite opponents like Peter Gade and Boonsak Ponsana before meeting South Korea’s Shon Seung-mo in the final. With calm precision and flair, he won in straight sets: 15–8, 15–7.
In the first set, I was trailing 0-7. The Olympics felt different, this is every athlete’s dream, and I was carrying the hopes of my country.
I couldn’t sleep the night before, just three or four hours. My mind was racing. I kept wondering, what happens if I win? What if I lose? Even during the match, my hands were shaking.
When the final point was over, I cried. I felt relieved. This was it, the dream. The highest peak. I had made it. And for Indonesia, that year, mine was the only gold medal.
Taufik’s legacy extends beyond his Olympic triumph. He was renowned for his lethal backhand smash, once clocked at 206 km/h. At the 2006 World Championships in Madrid, he smashed at a staggering 305 km/h against Ng Wei of Hong Kong.
It really depends on positioning. That time, the shuttle was just perfect, everything aligned: timing, instinct, the right angle. It’s a mix of training, rhythm, and feel.
After retiring in 2013, Taufik established the Taufik Hidayat Arena in Ciracas, East Jakarta, to nurture the next generation of badminton stars. In October 2024, he entered a new chapter, appointed as Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports by President Prabowo Subianto.
Taufik’s story is a powerful reminder that greatness can be born from reluctance. The boy who once avoided the racket became a world-class legend, an icon who continues to inspire future athletes, on and off the court.
