Personality traits, environment, and career stages of top athletes: An evidence from outstanding badminton players of Indonesia

The world badminton championship is a highly competitive arena. Successful athletes are those who have excellence, not only physically and technically but also mentally. The present study aims to identify the personality traits, environment, and career stages required by an athlete to achieve excellence. The research was conducted with a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews. As participants are 10 Indonesian badminton athletes who have achieved world-class achievements, such as the Olympics and world championships. They consist of 3 female athletes and 7 male athletes. The results showed that seven traits were effective in supporting their achievement, namely: achievement-oriented, hard work, persistent, autonomy, commitment, intelligence, and self-control. The family environment and sports environment influence the formation of traits and the emergence of high-achieving athletes. This research also found that athletes go through 5 phases in achieving achievement, namely exploration, specialization, investment, achievement, and maintenance.