still number one in Indonesia

macau 2008: friends but rivals

    Badminton was found in England, but now Asian is dominating this sport. for me, there are 4 masters in this game now. Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia, Lin Dan from China, Taufik Hidayat from Indonesia, and Peter Gade from Denmark. technically, 4 of them are the same.  until now, when the four of them meet each other we'd surely see an entertainment rather than a match. the highest level of badminton, as commentators would say, artists of badminton. since im Indonesian so im gonna write more about Hidayat.

     at the age of 17, Hidayat became the key player when Indonesia won thomas cup 98. he advanced to All England finals when he was 18, he did it again when he was 19 but has never won the cup until now. 5-6 years ago, he's number one in the world. he won the gold medal in Athena 2004 and world championship in 2005 (being the first player to win it at the same time). when the system of 15points changed into rally point, he's no longer number one, but he won another gold medal in Asian Games (2006) by beating Lin Dan in the final. Hidayat is not a fast player like Lin Dan & Lee. so since the system had changed, they both are the best. although he's not a fast player but he has a powerful backhand smash and once recorded a 305 km/h jumping smash. now he's already won 24 major titles.he's now 30 but still being Indonesian only hope in men singles.
     badminton is the number one sport in Indonesia, we have a very good team and numbers of world class player back then. when the gold generation (Hendrawan, Hidayat, Candra Wijaya, Sigit Budiarto) got older we dont have any other good players anymore, now China is dominating the world by winning Thomas, Uber, and Sudirman cup. as a fan of the only sport that my country can be number 1, i hope Indonesia develope many young player's potential and have enough power to take the domination from China