Taufik launches Academy

On Monday, Taufik Hidayat aunched his own academy – the Taufik Hidayat Arena, on the outskirts of Jakarta.

“My dream since its ground-breaking two and a half years ago has come true,” said the man after whom the arena is named. “THA is my dedication to badminton, not only for Indonesia but also the world of badminton. I spent all my money from 16 years of working hard on the court,” Taufik told the Jakarta Post.

The arena is spread on 6500 square meters of land with all facilities including 8 badminton courts and 10 rooms for interns. Taufik’s coach Mulyo Handoyo will be in charge of the training until Taufik ends his career next June, then the national hero will work together with his coach to train local promising players as well as foreigners – Canadian shuttlers will be the first to try the arena in a few weeks.