http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/10/22/nation/9188900&sec=nation Source The Star God was the key to my success, says Rudy PETALING JAYA: Indonesian badminton legend Rudy Hartono was in town but did not talk about his famous mastery of the game. Instead, the 55-year-old, hailed as the greatest player of his era for winning a record eight All-England titles in the 1960s and 1970s, revealed that the real key to his success was his faith in God. “I was a person who attended church once a year during Christmas. When I was 18 and competing in my first All-England, God showed me a miracle. On the eve of the final against defending champion Tan Aik Huang, I was restless and could not sleep. “Somehow, I had the notion to pray. On match day, I still lacked the confidence and prayed for every point. And the miracle happened,†he said of his first All-England win. He was speaking at The Star Christian Fellowship's second anniversary dinner at the Eastin Hotel here on Wednesday night. The 140 guests included Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili. It was at the end of his badminton career in 1982 that Rudy finally accepted Christ. “Despite having had a successful badminton career, I felt empty when I quit the sport. I could not accept the fact that I was getting older and I could no longer win any titles. “Then, a preacher shared that Jesus Christ is the only one who can give me peace. I accepted and believed, and it changed my life,†he said. Today, Rudy is an associate pastor at the Bethel Church in Jakarta. However, he has not lost his passion for badminton. He is the vice-president of the International Badminton Federation and heads the All-Indonesia Badminton Association development committee.
Some athletes believe in prayer. Others believe in always putting their right shoe on first. I am not sure what the purpose of posting this here is, but whatever it is, we're NOT going to have a religious debate. Mag, Moderator
i think we also talk about life and activities of other pros here (gade, martin, XXZ, zhang ning, LD, yang yang, etc), why not one more like rudy
Prayer is very important, IMO ... since I am Catholic .... Rudy Ruettiger prayed every night for years and years so that he could play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (in football) and he got to play for them, despite his immense small size and his total lack of athletic ability ..... Something to ponder about, I guess
Mag, the reason I posted it was cause I thought it'd be great for people to know what he's been up to. You know life after competitive badminton
I think another reason why FEND put it is to show that Rudy Hartono was a born again Christian in some ways. He's even a pastor now, so you can see the total transformation.
Reaper, what you said here is on your own accord, it does not reflect my opinion on the subject, so please do not involve me in it. The truth was I was reading the paper in a restaurant when I saw the news. I was like mmm a badminton legend doing something after his playing career, and I thought it'd be nice if other people on the forum knew what he was up to. I'm still sure there are Rudy Hartono fans lying around in the forum Anyways no hard feeling Reaper Cheers
The Star article on Rudy Hartono is not quite accurate. Rudy Hartono first played in the All England in 1968, which he won. But the defending champion was not Tan Aik Huang, who was actually the champion two years earlier in 1966. The defending champion was Earland Kops of Denmark. Another inconsistency was the reported worry bothering Rudy on the eve of the 1968 final. I saw Rudy play in Kuala Lumpur against Tan Aik Huang when Rudy was 16 or 17, and Aik Huang did not appear to be the master-rather it was the other way around-as Aik Huang had to struggle against Rudy to squeeze out a hard fought game that went the distance. By 1968, Aik Huang would have been the underdog and Rudy the undisputed no. 1 seed. So, Rudy's worry about losing to Aik Huang in the 1968 final doesn't sound convincing. Or maybe Rudy got his facts wrong, for after all that was a long time ago.
Rudy Hartono Vs Rudy Gunawan They seem to do the same calling after badminton career is over which is to serve the Lord Almighty. They both are famous badminton figure in their lifetime while Rudy Hartono was mainly a single player, Rudy Gunawan was more of a Men double power. Rudy GUnawan was a silver medallist for the first badminton event in Olympics with his double partner.