Tahir Djide, who trained some of Indonesia's best badminton players between 1970 and 1990, died from liver cancer at 3:15 a.m. on Friday at Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung.
Djide, who was born in Sidrap, South Sulawesi, on April 14, 1939, had been given intensive medical treatment for his illness since Wednesday, Antara reported.
"We initially took him to hospital last month and he looked to have improved. However, his condition dropped and we took him back to hospital on Wednesday," Djide's eldest daughter, Sri Rahayu Aprilita Bugiwati, aka Lita Djide, said, as quoted by Antara.
Djide was indispensable to Indonesia's past badminton glory. In his tenure as one of the team's physical trainers, he helped produce the likes of Rudy Hartono, who won the All England Championship eight times, three-time champion Liem Swie King and 1983 world champion Icuk Sugiarto.
"I regard Pak Tahir as my own parent. He seemed to know me more that my father did, because we were together for 15 years," national badminton legend Liem Swie King said to Kompas.com.
King said that Djide was a major part of her life. "He made me a champion. If I performed well Pak Tahir would be proud of me."
Djide was a member of the women's team that became the first Indonesians to win the Uber Cup in 1975. Four years later, under his watch, the men's team secured the Thomas Cup.
For his achievements, Djide was bestowed the Bintang Mahaputra Pratama award during Abdurrahman Wahid's administration.
Besides contributing to national badminton glory, Djide will be remembered as a supportive and loving father and grandfather.
"He would always remind us of the importance of working hard and being disciplined," Lita said.
His body was laid to rest at Cikutra Cemetery in Bandung on Friday.
"He was one of the best badminton coaches Indonesia has ever had," Amung Mamun, head of the West Java Sports Office, said, adding that his physical prowess gained him a reputation among his peers.
"He was hard working, disciplined and loved by athletes," Amung said.
The eldest of eight siblings, Djide graduated from the Bandung Institute for Teacher Training (IKIP), now known as the Bandung Education University.
He took up hockey and became a physical trainer before assuming his first role in the badminton world when he helped train Rudy Hartono and his teammates for the All England and Asian Games in 1970.
He was in charge of athletic development at the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) between 1985 and 1988. He was known for his discipline and toughness when training his athletes that none of them could compromize their training programs.
His passing comes at a time when Indonesia's national badminton teams struggle in one international competition after the next.
At the recent world championship in Hyderabad, India, Indonesian shuttlers returned home empty handed, capping a pathetic run in this year's Badminton World Federation-sanctioned Super Series.
Indonesian shuttlers managed to clinch just one title from a possible 30 in the first six Super Series tournaments. Another seven Super Series, including the season-ending Grand Final, await the world's best shuttlers, but the prospects for Indonesia remain bleak.
With results like these, Indonesia is crying out for a man as dedicated, hard working and passionate as Tahir Djide.
