Ami Afriatni

Taufik Hidayat. (JG Photo)

Taufik Says Team Unity Key to Taking Thomas Cup

Talent and motivation are all well and good, but Taufik Hidayat believes promoting solidarity is the most important thing for teams going into international competitions such as the Thomas Cup.

Taufik would know, having represented Indonesia in the biennial team tournament five times since 2000 and helping it lift the trophy in 2000 and 2002.

The bond between players, he said, makes the team stronger.

“It can be done, let’s say, by practicing together. Any effort that might keep up the solidity among us, both on and off the court, will help,” the 28-year-old shuttler said on Wednesday.

Making that dream a reality could be hard. Several squad members, such as Taufik, Markis Kido, Hendra Setiawan and Alvent Yulianto Chandra have left the national team camp based at Cipayung, East Jakarta, to play professionally.

Taufik, who now trains at Bantong Badminton Hall in Cijantung, said he would not mind returning to the national squad if the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) made an official request. That has yet to happen, however.

“As of today, I have yet to even receive official notification from the PBSI saying that I’m part of the [Thomas Cup] team, though I know my name has been registered with the [Badminton World Federation],” he said. “I don’t mind because I’ve promised to play if they need me. But still, they have to make it official.”

Lius Pongoh, the PBSI head of athletes’ development, said the association did not want to interrupt pro players’ training.

“They are welcome to come to Cipayung anytime they want. But I know they already have their own training schedules, so we don’t want to disturb that by forcing them to train together here,” Lius said.

Indonesia will attempt to qualify for the Thomas Cup in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, on Feb. 21-28. The top four Asian teams advance to the tournament in Kuala Lumpur on May 9-16.

China and Malaysia earned berths as the defending champion and host, respectively. Indonesia’s main competition includes Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Thomas Cup team members cleaned up at the National Championship in Surabaya on Wednesday. Simon Santoso won in straight sets, as did Markis and Hendra, while Rian Sukmawan and Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki advanced by default after their opponents withdrew.

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