Megawati Hangestri's Future at a Crossroads

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The future of Indonesian women's volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, stands at a crossroads, one of which involves leaving the South Korean Volleyball League. This has also drawn public attention in the "Land of the Morning Calm," including from the Director of the South Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO), Cho Yong-chan.

Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi can be said to be the most outstanding Asian foreign player in the Korean Volleyball League or V League. For two consecutive seasons since 2023-2024, Megawati's presence has not only boosted the performance of the club, Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks, but also increased the popularity of the club and the league.

After leading the team to the playoffs for the first time in seven years last season, Megawati led the Red Sparks to 13 consecutive wins. Her personal record was also brilliant, collecting 729 points to place her in third place in the all-time points scorer. She also became the player with the highest attack success ratio (47.2 percent) and open attack success ratio (42.36 percent).

With all these impressive achievements, it is natural for questions about Megawati's future in the highest-tier volleyball competition in Korea to arise. Moreover, the player nicknamed "Megatron" by fans is at a crossroads for the next season, which could include the possibility of leaving Korea.

There are at least three options Megawati has regarding her future. One option that is being widely discussed in Korea is the option to register for next season's draft as a general foreign player, not an Asian foreign player.

According to V League regulations, general foreign players have a maximum salary cap of 250,000 US dollars, equivalent to 4.07 billion rupiah. This means it would be financially more advantageous for Megawati, as this amount is greater than her maximum salary for this season, which is 150,000 US dollars (2.44 billion rupiah).

If Megawati chooses the second option, namely remaining as an Asian foreign player, her maximum salary will remain the same as this season. However, with this option, Megawati will have the priority to extend her collaboration with Red Sparks. This differs from the scenario if Megawati chooses the first option.

If registered as a general foreign player, Megawati might no longer play for Red Sparks. Megawati will be selected by the seven V League teams through a lottery with reverse ranking probabilities.

We remain open to the possibility of participating in the foreign player draft, applying for the Asian quota, and renewing contracts through managers, or trying to pursue a career in other foreign leagues.

The last option is for Megawati to leave the V League and pursue a career in another country. South Korean media, Yonhap, even claims that the player from Jember, East Java, has attracted interest from clubs from Japan and Turkey.

Megawati's future is also in the spotlight of the Director of the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cho Yong-chan. After this season's Korean Volleyball League finishes, KOVO will discuss Megawati's future specifically.

"Currently, Mega is focusing on preparations for the post-regular season (playoffs), and we will discuss plans for next season after this season ends," said Cho Yong-chan, quoted from Yonhap, Saturday (8/3/2025).

Vision International CEO, Megawati's domestic agent, Kim Seong-hoon, also revealed that Megawati has not made a decision regarding her future. However, Kim confirmed that there are three options that Megawati currently has.

"We are still open to the possibility of participating in the foreign player draft, applying for the Asian quota, and renewing the contract through the manager, or trying to pursue a career in another foreign league," said Kim.

Although there is an option for Megawati to register as a general foreign player which is more financially beneficial or not continue her career in Korea, Kim believes that his client has a great love for the Red Sparks and life in Korea. "In particular, she has a strong attachment to the team," he said.

Kim also predicted that another Indonesian female volleyball player, Yola Yuliana, would bring a breath of fresh air to the V-League like Megawati. Yolla is the only Indonesian female volleyball player whose name is listed in the Draft Asia Quarter participants published by KOVO, Thursday (6/3/2025).

Previously, Yolla had also registered for the Asian draft for the 2024-2024 season with Aulia Suci Nurfadila. The two players also participated in the try out which took place in Jeju, South Korea. However, in the end no team chose them.

Yolla then joined a club that played in the second tier of the Japanese Volleyball League, Tokyo Sunbeams. After strengthening Tokyo Sunbeams, Yolla reportedly will return to Indonesia to help Jakarta Popsivo Polwan navigate the final four of Proliga 2025.

Meanwhile, Megawati did not need to take part in the trial again because she had played in the Korean League the previous season. The trial was intended for new participants.

In a report by Korean media outlet Sport Seoul, KOVO announced that 143 players have registered for the Asian quota for the 2025-2026 season. Of the 143 names, 100 are male volleyball players from 19 countries and 43 are female players from 10 countries.

In the men's sector, Iran registered the most participants with 45 volleyball players. Meanwhile, Indonesia registered 9 volleyball players consisting of Doni Haryono, Rivan Nurmulki, Agil Angga, Sandi Akbar, Luvi Nugraha, Dawuda and Alaihimas Sallam. In addition, there are Fahry Septian, Nizar Julfikar and Dio Zulfikri.

Meanwhile, in the women's sector, Yolla will compete with several new faces. Two of them are Haruyo Shimamura (Japan), the best middle blocker at the 2024 Club World Championship and Emma Burton (Australia) who was her country's top scorer in 2022.