KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Indonesia will still depend on Taufik Hidayat to keep the prestigious Thomas Cup at home. And the hosts can bet that the two-time All-England runner-up, the most experienced player in the squad, will live up to the expectations of the boisterous crowd during the Finals in Jakarta from May 7-16. Indonesian men's singles assistant coach Asep Suharno said Indonesia were serious about winning the Cup for the sixth time. “Our aim is to win at least two points from the singles and Taufik is one of our best bet. “He has already started training seriously. He will feature in the Swiss Open and All-England next month,” said Asep. The other singles players in the Indonesia side are top young players Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Simon Santoso. The fourth place will be a fight between Wiempie Mahardi and Taufik Akhbar Hidayat. “We have two main aims this year – to retain the Thomas Cup and to win gold medals at the Olympic Games.” Asep said that China and Malaysia would be their two main threats in the men's singles. “We have an advantage over the South Koreans. Malaysia's Wong Choong Hann and China's Lin Dan will be these teams' lethal weapons.” In the doubles, Indonesia are spoilt for choice. There are currently four formidable pairs – world number two Flandi Limpele-Eng Hian, Luluk Hadiyanto-Alven Yulianto, Candra Wijaya-Halim Hariyanto and Sigit Budiarto-Trikus Hariyanto. “Our team will be represented by four singles and three doubles pair. We will decide on our top three pairs based on their performances in the coming Open tournaments,” said doubles assistant coach Aryono Miranat. Despite having an impressive line-up, a modest Aryono said it would not be easy for the doubles players during the Finals. “China's doubles players have improved a lot. And we do not want to under estimate Malaysia either,” he said. At the previous Finals in Guangzhou, Indonesia defeated Malaysia 3-2 in the final to win the Cup for a record fifth consecutive time. On preparations for the Uber Cup Team, Asep said: “Unlike our men, it will be tough on our girls. But they have been serious in training. Their target is to reach at least the semi-finals.”
TAUFIK HIDAYAT V/S TAUFIK AKBAR HIDAYAT HOW COME THOSE TWO HAVE SO SIMILAR NAMES? AND THEY PLAY BOTH FOR INDONESIA BADMINTON TEAM I HOPE THEY DO NOT LOOK ALIKE COZ IT WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH THEM BY JUST LOOKING AT THEM. TO JUST IDENTIFY THEM, WE WILL NEED TO MAKE THEM PLAY A BADMINTON MATCH. SORRY FOR THE CAPS, THERE IS AN APPLICATION IN THE BACKGRD THAT KEEPS ENABLING MY CAPS-LOCK ALL THE TIME.
Re: TAUFIK HIDAYAT V/S TAUFIK AKBAR HIDAYAT Agree the names are confusing and annoying at times. Let's hope the latter lives up to the name of the former although it is quite unlikely that the latter's parents idolized the former so much that they named their son after him. Because their ages are not too far apart.
if you lived here in indonesia, you'd be shocked by how many parents name their sons Taufik Hidayat, even way before the "badminton-taufiks" were born...... I always wonder why only two of them are playing badminton ?
Oh man.. that will be very confusing.. so many Taufiks.. like korea.. they are so many Kims and Moons..
