The Story Of Taufik Hidayat Refuses To Be Bribed By Malaysian Officials In Today's Memory, August 25, 2021

Indonesian badminton legend, Taufik Hidayat. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA Memories of today, four years ago, August 25, 2021, the story of badminton legend Taufik Hidayat rejecting bribes from Malaysian officials at the 2006 Asian Games (Doha, Qatar) went viral in Indonesia and Malaysia. The Malaysian Badminton Association (BAM) immediately responded seriously.

Previously, Taufik Hidayat never discussed the problem of himself wanting to be publicly bribed. Later Taufik was called to open it. He wants existing badminton athletes to uphold nationalism. He also opened his story against bribes from Malaysian officials.

No one knows Taufik Hidayat. Indonesian badminton legend has made Indonesia proud on the world badminton stage. He once won the symbol of the highest badminton supremacy, the men's singles gold media at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

This achievement made him famous throughout the country. The popularity did not necessarily disappear when Taufik began to decide to hang up his racket. He continues to be an idol for young Indonesian badminton players. Taufik himself is active in providing motivation and input for badminton athletes.

Later Taufik brought a stir. He tried to tell his old story about being a gold medalist at the 2006 Asian Games. Taufik didn't just tell his struggles. However, Taufik tried to tell about his burning nationalism.

Taufik opened his story and tried to be bribed by one of the Malaysian officials. The mode is to try to approach Taufik at Athlete Village in Doha, Qatar. He asked Taufik to lose to Malaysian badminton athlete Lee Chong Wei.

The official then asked about the nominal received by Taufik as a bonus from the Indonesian government if he won. Taufik said the nominal received was not large. Malaysians want to double it. However, Taufik refused.

The nationalism is on. He proved his dominance in the 2006 Asian Games. He was able to beat Lee Chong Wei. He also beat Chinese badminton athlete Lin Dan in the final and brought home a gold medal.

"(The manager) suddenly asked for a phone number and came. He said: You have lost twice to Lin Dan. Can you not beat Lee Chong Wei. He asked: from Indonesia, how much is the bonus champion? I said it's not big, that's it. But, that's enough. He then said: can we double it? "

"I started to get emotional. I then said: what if it was him who didn't, I paid. You in Indonesia, you can't go home. It's impossible for me to sell the name of Indonesia. I think there are also people like this. It's the same as telling me to sell the name of the country. Chaotic," said Taufik at the Holy Promise event on Trans TV as quoted by the Bola.com page, August 21, 2021.

Taufik's story has gone viral everywhere. The controversial story even went viral in the neighboring country. Lee Chong Wei himself admitted that he only found out on August 25, 2021. Lee immediately called Taufik and admitted that he saluted Taufik for rejecting the loss offer for the pride of the nation.

The Badminton Association itself spoke up. They promised to trace the truth of Taufik Hidayat's story. They want the truth to be wide open soon.

"I have told Datuk Kenny (Goh, secretary general of BAM) to check Taufik's claim. We need to verify to ensure the truth of this. Based on Taufik and Chong Wei's statement, I believe the Badminton World Federation (BWF) should already have the basis for conducting an investigation. We will help as much as possible if needed," said BAM President, Tan Sri Norza Zakaria as quoted by the Okezone page, August 25, 2021.