Hidayat overcame some second game nerves to beat the Chinese star 21-15, 22-20 in a tense match in front of a cheering, flag-waving Indonesian crowd. After securing the first game and going 17-20 down in the second, he saved three game points to take the title, sending the crowd into a screaming frenzy.
"I lost in the team event and it was playing on my mind. I wanted to win the first game for sure. He was fast in the second game and I wanted to stay with him and with endurance I did," said the Indonesian star.
The defending champion said his personal rivalry with Lin did not have an impact on the game, and he offered an olive branch of sorts. "I never speak to him because I don't speak Mandarin and he doesn't speak Indonesian. But we are okay," the seventh seed said in English. "Everything is okay, I think maybe the media blows these things up."
Lin and the bronze medallists declined to attend the post-match news conference, where the world champion would have sat alongside Hidayat, prompting the Indonesian to say with a grin: "Ask him why he didn't show up." Tensions have been simmering between the two since Hidayat launched an astonishing personal attack on Lin last Friday, saying he was arrogant and unfriendly.
The comments backfired spectacularly with the 25-year-old losing twice to Lin in the team competition, both times in three games. Lin conceded that Hidayat had played the better match, and he was feeling the pressure in the second game. "Taufik played much better than I expected," he said. "When I was leading 20-17 I felt I wanted to win so much. That's why I lost eventually." Read more...
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