Taking place at Sasana Budaya Ganesha on Monday (6/8/2018), Taufik recalled his experiences during his active year as an athlete. He began playing at the age of 7. His shining talent brought him to national training camp in his teens. But, he was faced with a dilemma of choosing between badminton and football. “The challenge was not easy. My parents wanted me to be a badminton player while I wanted to play football,” he said.

Taufik reckoned that pursuing a career as an athlete is different with pursuing academic study. Unlike pursuing academic study, being an athlete is a short-timed career that is bound by one’s age. Hence, it takes a commitment and targets to be achieved.

“At age 15, I entered national training camp which part me away from my family and from playing with friends my age. It was difficult, but I have chosen being an athlete as my life,” he said.

After joining national training camp, Taufik’s talent grew. One by one, he won achievements. He collected 6 Indonesia Open medals in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006. Taufik was also entrusted to join Indonesian team in Thomas Cup. He was part of Merah Putih team that won in 2000 and 2002.

On multi-sport event, he also won prestigious medals. He won gold medal in 1999 and 2007 SEA Games in male single number. He also won Asian Games gold medal. He collected three gold medals from the biggest sport event in Asia in 1998 (group), 2002, and 2006. His peak achievement was when he presented gold medal for Indonesia in Athena Olympic 2004, and world champion in Anaheim, USA in 2005.

“Freshmen should have targets after entering ITB. ITB is one of the best. Future leaders and entrepreneurs could emerge from here,” he said.

The Biggest Challenge
Taufik believes that the biggest challenge for an athlete is the athlete himself. When he was in national training camp, he had to wake up early every morning, train, and all that were done with hard work. If failing to face that, it could mean a fail to be an athlete. “The other challenge is injuries. It can break our hopes and career that we have built for years. We can train every day, but we can do nothing when God says differently (the injury occurs),” he said.

Because of that struggle, Taufik thinks that a hero is not necessarily the one who carries weapon. An athlete is also a hero because they bear the Merah Putih flag (red and white flag of Indonesia) and bring pride to the nation.

To all freshmen of ITB, Taufik advised them to dare to dream and give the best for nation, family, and self. “Do not forget to exercise because it is important. Send your prayer and support for 18 August when we become the host of Asian Games. Hopefully Indonesian athletes can bring pride to the nation,” Taufik said.