Mulyo Handoyo roared in laughter the second he was requested about Taufik Hidayat. “It’s been so long now but people still ask me about him,” stated Handoyo.
Indonesian teaching nice Mulyo Handoyo. (Getty Pictures)
Hidayat and Handoyo fashioned one of many biggest player-coach pairings the game has ever seen, so well-known that regardless of them teaming up virtually twenty years in the past, badminton aficionados can nonetheless relate to it. Below Handoyo, Hidayat clinched the 2004 Athens Olympics gold and adopted it up with the 2005 World Championships crown.
The Indonesian nice additionally clinched three extra medals on the World Championships aside from two Asian Video games gold and the highest prize thrice on the Asian Championships aside from a bunch of different trophies on the World Tour.
Whereas the partnership made Hidayat one of many biggest shuttlers ever, it additionally made Handoyo some of the revered coaches on the circuit, needed by most federations. “Taufik is a big man now. He is now the deputy minister for sports in Indonesia,” stated Handoyo.
After Hidayat retired, Handoyo had a number of teaching stints in high badminton nations earlier than deciding to return to his house nation the place he’s presently the singles head coach. However within the center, he additionally had a year-long stint in India from 2017-2018 when he coached the likes of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy amongst others.
Nevertheless it was notably Srikanth who excelled below the Indonesian, reaching 5 Superseries finals and profitable 4. Below Handoyo, Srikanth additionally grew to become the third Indian after Prakash Padukone and Saina Nehwal to be ranked No.1 on the earth. However Srikanth is now above 30 and within the twilight of his profession. The main focus has shifted to the newer era.
“At the moment if I see the Indian players, Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat are young, performing well and are the future but Srikanth and Prannoy are declining,” Handoyo stated with the assistance of a translator.
“I don’t know about the future but there is a lot of hope in Indian badminton with a lot of talented players. There are many good, young players now who are emerging. I can’t mention them one by one.”
Although Sindhu’s peak got here after Handoyo left Indian shores in 2018, the well-known Indonesian coach spent sufficient time with the previous world champion, serving to her win a number of titles on the BWF World Tour, together with a silver on the 2017 World Championships.
“Sindhu is 29. She can play for four more years. Her career now all depends on her. If she still wants then there is hope (of her returning to the top) but as people get older, their physical condition declines. But I think for one or two years, she can still do it,” added Handoyo.
The Indonesian coach is now the lads’s singles head coach of Indonesia, changing Irwansyah Adi Pratama, who left the place in December to teach Indian ladies’s singles shuttlers. Requested how Irwansyah might help Sindhu elevate her stage, Mulyo stated, “Everyone has their own style. If Sindhu is still really motivated, Irwansyah can really help her reach the top again.”
Mulyo was additionally in talks with the Badminton Affiliation of India (BAI) about returning to India final 12 months when he was being thought of for the function of the pinnacle coach of the newly-built Nationwide Centre of Excellence in Guwahati. However the Indonesian by no means arrived, selecting to maneuver again to Indonesia from Singapore.
“My family was the reason. They live in Solo in Central Java, so I needed to be close to them. Singapore and Malaysia are also not far from home but India is,” concluded Handoyo.