Taufik Hidayat, a controversial figure whose temper has sometimes eclipsed his talent, stormed to Olympic badminton gold yesterday by crushing Shon Seung-mo of South Korea 15-8 15-7 in the men’s singles final. Chinese top seeds Zhang Jiewen and Yang Wei won the day’s other final, defeating compatriots Huang Sui and Gao Ling in the women’s doubles to claim their country’s third badminton gold of the Athens Games.
Hidayat, who was involved in a scuffle with a spectator in 2001 and has fallen foul of his national badminton authorities on several occasions, kept his cool to win the men’s title even after going 6-0 down in the first game.
“I was really nervous in the opening minutes,” said Hidayat, who wears a diamond stud earring and has been compared to other volatile sporting talents such as George Best and John McEnroe.
With tears in his eyes, the unseeded Hidayat sank to his knees and put his hands over his face after winning the final with a strong forehand smash.
Roared on by hundreds of Indonesian supporters whose chants and cheers filled the Goudi Olympic Hall, Hidayat used a combination of strong smashes, deft flicks and athletic court coverage to come from behind in both games.
In the second game, he was 3-0 down to the number seven seed before putting 12 points on the board without reply.
Hidayat’s compatriot Soni Dwi Kuncoro took bronze earlier in the day by defeating Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand 15-11, 17-16.
In the women’s final, Zhang and Yang went a game down to Huang and Gao before stepping up a gear to win the second.
They raced to a 7-0 lead in the third game and clinched victory by a score of 7-15, 15-4, 15-8 with a strong smash from Zhang at the end of a breathtaking rally.
Ra Kyung-min and Lee Kyung-won of South Korea took bronze in the women’s doubles by beating Zhao Tingting and Wei Yili of China 10-15, 15-9, 15-7. Yesterday’s finals concluded the Athens badminton program, with China having collected one gold fewer than in Sydney.
Hidayat’s win in the singles and South Korea’s gold in the men’s doubles showed the Chinese are not completely dominant despite their strong showing in the game in recent years.
