30 April,2011 07:25 AM IST | | Sanjay Sharma
World no 3 Taufik Hidayat won't be affected by yesterday's stunning loss to Sung-Hwan in the quarters; promises to play for a long time
World No 3 and second seed Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia was stunned 17-21, 17-21 by Korean sixth seed Park Sung-Hwan in an Indian Open Super Series quarter-finals match yesterday. It was a special win for 24-year-old Park, who had suffered 10 successive losses at the hands of the Indonesian legend.
World No 3 Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia during Thursday's Indian
Open Super Series 2011 match against India's Parupalli Kashyap
in New Delhi. PIC/AFP
Hidayat showered praise on his victor. "He had to win someday. I tried my best but Sung was very determined to defeat me today. "He defended extremely well on both flanks and that blunted my attack. I tried to keep the shuttle low to stop him from smashing. But he returned confidently. I just could not get a grip on the game. I congratulate him."
Hidayat, who reached the All England final when he was just 17 years old and has won the Olympic and Asian games gold apart from the World Championships, maybe getting on the wrong side of 30 but is not thinking of hanging up his racket.
"I still enjoy playing and am reaching semis and finals in many tournament. I have been able to retain high world rankings for the last 12 years. I enjoy the workouts and enjoy playing all over the world. "Also, I'm still the highest ranked Indonesian player and it's my responsibility to ensure that as a country we remain on top," said the 30-year-old from Java.
