Taufik Hidayat underlines dearth of talented junior shuttlers in Men’s Singles category
Indonesia’s experienced shuttler Taufik Hidayat underlined the lack of talented junior players in the national squad of Indonesia in Men’s Singles category.
The World Number 12 Taufik, who is former World Champion and Olympic gold medallist, said that Indonesia has variety in Doubles category but in Men’s Singles, no Indonesian shuttler seems to replace the seniors at the moment.
However, Taufik also said that two shuttlers, Tommy Sugiarto and Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, have the potential to replace seniors if they work extra hard.
Indonesia is lacking the competent shuttlers who could put up tough resistance to the top shuttlers in the world of badminton.
He feels that Indonesia needs more talent at junior level which will be able to become top class shuttlers and will earn glory for the country.
While talking about two upcoming Indonesian shuttlers Taufik said that they need certain improvements in different aspects of the game.
Taufik said, “Tommy and Hayom still have to improve if they want to replace the senior players. Who else is there? The other younger players are pretty much below those two. Tommy has a strong mentality but his playing technique needs improvement, while
Hayom is the opposite of that.”
Recently, Taufik helped his club Indonesia Garuda to win the Axiata Cup, which was the richest team-event tournament as it offered US$1 million.
In the final contest on Sunday, April 15, Taufik played against a young player Shesar Hiren Rustavitho and won the battle without facing any tough resistance at all.
Taufik wrapped up the fight in straight games without playing to his full potential.
After the match, Taufik said that he was not happy with the way Shesar played against him as he was expecting the youngster to put up strong fight.
Taufik said, “I didn’t even play my best. [Shesar] is almost 20 years old now but is still weak mentally. If he’s nervous fighting a compatriot, how can he handle players from other countries?”
Despite having lack of depth in Men’s Singles category in Indonesian squad, Taufik is optimistic for getting good results at the Thomas Cup Finals 2012, which will kick off in China next month.
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