Never Give Up Spirit Brings Gregoria to Win Medal at 2024 Paris Olympics

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – On Sunday (4/8/2024) afternoon WIB, the attention of the Indonesian people was focused on the only representative of the Red and White in the badminton semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung faces world number one An Se Young of South Korea for a place in the women’s singles final.

If this fight had happened a few years ago, Gregoria’s defeat might have been predictable. The player from Mutiara Bandung Club once felt her career was stagnant, while her peers and rivals achieved success in various championships.

In mid-2022, when she was ranked 30th in the world, Gregoria expressed disappointment and lack of confidence due to frequent early round losses in various tournaments.

With the world junior title in 2017, Gregoria immediately became the mainstay of the Indonesian women’s singles sector at a young age, without any close senior figures to accompany her. High expectations immediately accompanied her every step, which slowly turned into pressure, but also hope.

Gregoria qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but lost to Ratchanok Intanon. However, this year, Gregoria managed to beat Ratchanok twice in a row in the prestigious badminton event.

Expectations are again high in 2022, when Gregoria, as captain squad Indonesian women’s badminton, leading the team to win gold at the Asian Team Championships. However, this positive trend did not continue in the individual event, and her ranking dropped to 31st in the world after being eliminated in the first round of the 2022 Indonesia Open.

“At this point, I feel so ashamed and sad. I feel like I don’t deserve any praise. I accept bad things people say to me, because that’s how I see myself,” Gregoria said two years ago via her official Twitter account (X). “That’s okay, you knowif you want to help me through prayer. I really appreciate it,” concluded Gregoria, who was 22 years old at the time.

The following year was also full of challenges for Gregoria. However, positive progress began to be seen slowly. She led the Indonesian team to reach the quarterfinals of the 2023 Asian Mixed Team Championships, entered the last eight of the All England Open and the 2023 Asian Championships. She also won her first elite BWF tournament title at the 2023 Spain Masters, and her world ranking skyrocketed to the world’s top 10.

Gregoria also won the 2023 Kumamoto Masters title, becoming the first Indonesian women’s singles player to win the highest title of the BWF Super 500 tournament since 2007, and led the Indonesian women’s team to the 2024 Uber Cup final after a 16-year wait.

The situation began to change, and Gregoria showed the value and proof of her toughness, which led her to become a semifinalist and bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He lost with honor through rubber game after going through a struggle beyond her limits against An Se Young with a score of 21-11, 13-21, 16-21. Although still unable to defeat the first seed, Gregoria gave a tough fight and showed a fighting spirit that shook the hearts and souls of the audience.

After the match, An Se Young gave a warm hug, acknowledging how difficult it was to beat Gregoria to reach the Olympic final. The bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics also marks the first time that Indonesia’s women’s singles have won it since Maria Kristin at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In addition, this is the first medal squad Red and White in Paris.

Gregoria’s achievement this year is an alarm for the federation to immediately fix the organization in order to maintain and improve achievements through regeneration. Gregoria will continue to be an inspiration for her juniors, unlike her time, her younger siblings now have a warm but tough senior figure.

Her spirit of not letting the shuttlecock fall, continuing to chase the ball and the score, not giving up despite injuries, and daring to express her feelings as an athlete and a human being, remains an example.

The Indonesian nation should be grateful to Gregoria who has shown a spirit of never giving up. Gregoria has become a reminder that hard work and humility will not betray the results.