Whatever the Result, High Appreciation for Megawati Hangestri

INCHEON, TUESDAY - Indonesian women's volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, has not yet succeeded in winning the South Korea Volleyball League 2024-2025. However, by leading Red Sparks to the final round through consistent and outstanding performances, Megawati has brought honor to Indonesia while solidifying her position on the international stage.

Megawati Hangestri's eyes glistened with tears as she tried her best to hold back the ones about to fall at the Samsam World Gymnasium, Incheon, Tuesday (8/4/2025). Most of her teammates from Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks were already crying, unable to contain their sorrow as the championship trophy went to Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders.

Red Sparks performed at their best, forcing the final round into five matches and extending the decisive game to five sets. Megawati even scored 37 points, the highest among her teammates and opponents. However, her impressive performance could not prevent Red Sparks from a 2-3 defeat (24-26, 24-26, 26-24, 25-23, 13-15).

Since the beginning of the 2024-2025 season, Megawati has expressed her determination to perform better in her second season in Korea. Moreover, this time, the player nicknamed "Megatron" by fans no longer needs to go through the adaptation process as she did last season.

"Even if I occasionally experience a decline (in performance), I will overcome it like I did last season. I will perform better this year," said Megawati, as reported by Korean media, Sport Donga.

Despite failing to lead the Red Sparks to end their 13-year wait for a championship title, Megawati has actually realized her determination. She played much better than last season, leading the team not only to qualify for the playoffs, but to advance to the final round and compete for the title through a fierce battle for 2 hours and 33 minutes.

Thanks to Megawati, Red Sparks managed to secure 13 victories since November 2024, the longest streak in the club's history. With a total of 802 points, Megawati surpassed last season's achievement of 736 points. She also leads the list of players with the highest attack success rate, at 48.06 percent.

As the first Indonesian player to pursue a career in Korea, Megawati has brought pride to the nation there. It is only fitting that previously, Red Sparks coach Ko Hee-jin emphasized that Megawati's name will be recorded in the history of the Korean Volleyball League or V League.

Ko Hee-jin's praise is not an exaggeration, as the player from Jember, East Java, has made a significant contribution to the team. This includes her contribution in the final round of the Korean Volleyball League, particularly in the fifth match, which determined the championship title.

Megawati served as the driving force behind Red Sparks' offensive when they were trailing in the first two sets of the fifth match. With her powerful strikes, Megawati helped Red Sparks gain momentum early in the third set, leading by five points at an 8-3 scoreline. Megawati and her teammates worked to prevent their opponents from closing the gap, equalizing the score, or even overtaking them.

Megawati led the team forward, especially to a 19-14 position. The Pink Spiders managed to close the gap to 21-20, especially after Megawati and her foreign teammate Vanja Bukilic's shots were again read and blocked by their opponents. However, this time, the Red Sparks were able to maintain their lead until the end of the set, giving them another chance to keep their hopes of winning alive.

As in the third set, Red Sparks tried to seize the momentum from the start by maintaining the lead from Pink Spiders. They were up to 8 points ahead at 13-5 and 19-11. Pink Spiders got close with a difference of only three points at 22-19, 23-20, 24-21, then got close again to 24-22.

The battle seemed to belong to the Pink Spiders player who was nicknamed the “Queen of Korean Volleyball”, Kim Yeon-kyung, with Megawati. However, this time, Megawati managed to win the competition to bring the match to the fifth set.

In the deciding set, the battle became even fiercer. Both teams fought for points and took turns winning with Megawati and Kim again being the team's mainstays. However, victory belonged to the Pink Spiders after Tutku Burcu Yuzgenc's hard hit could not be anticipated perfectly by the Red Sparks. The ball went out and the Pink Spiders' 15th point ensured the championship title was theirs.

For Megawati, losing in the final round should not be a strange thing. Rising from a painful defeat is also not something she has never done. Like before, she should be able to rise again to be better.

Nine months ago, at the Indonesia Arena Stadium, Jakarta, Megawati also had tears in her eyes. The 25-year-old player then burst into tears. Not because she became the runner-up, but because she won the Proliga title, the highest caste volleyball competition in Indonesia, with Jakarta BIN.

Megawati's first title in Proliga was not achieved easily. Megawati even had to face a "curse" in the Proliga final. Because, every time she had the opportunity to win the title, the opportunity always failed.

In the 2019 Proliga final, Megawati who strengthened Jakarta Pertamina Energi was forced to return home as runner-up after losing to Jakarta PGN Popsivo Polwan. Four seasons later when strengthening Jakarta Pertamina Fastron, a similar result was achieved after losing to Bandung BJB Tandamata.

However, Megawati did not give up. She changed “almost champion” on the previous two occasions to “really champion” in Proliga 2024. It was the fruit of a performance that continued to improve every time and consistency that was maintained.

Meanwhile, her achievements in Korea were even better than her first career abroad, precisely in the Thai League with Supreme Chonburi.E Tech in 2020-2021. At that time, Megawati led the club to finish in third place.

In Korea, what is more important is that Megawati shows consistency since the beginning of the season. She also has a steely mentality that makes her always have a spirit of never giving up, even when behind in a match or in a difficult situation due to injury.

The final match was not like the Korean drama with a happy ending that Megawati watched and hoped for. However, what she achieved there will make Megawati rise stronger, in Korea or wherever she will have a career. One thing is for sure, the achievement in Korea further strengthens Megawati's position in the international arena.