Olympic Memory for the World Championships

For eight Indonesian badminton athletes, the Adidas Arena in Paris, France, has become a place that has created lasting memories. They carry the memories of the Paris 2024 Olympics to compete in the World Championship.

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Jonatan Christie, Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, and Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari entered the Adidas Arena on Saturday (23/8/2025) morning local time or Saturday afternoon Indonesia time. That morning, they conducted their first training session after arriving in Paris on Friday night.

About a year ago, Gregoria and her teammates were part of the Indonesian contingent that participated in the Paris 2024 Olympics. The badminton medal competition will take place from July 27 to August 5, 2024, at the Adidas Arena, which will also be used to host the World Championship 2025 from August 25 to 31.

Out of nine athletes competing in five events at the Olympics, more returned home with disappointing memories. Only Gregoria managed to secure a medal for "Merah Putih," which was a bronze in women's singles.

Gregoria won the bronze medal contest without competing because Carolina Marin, who was supposed to be her opponent, was injured. Marin sustained an injury while facing He Bing Jiao in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Gregoria lost to An Se-young (South Korea), who ultimately secured the gold after defeating He in the final.

In her journey to stand on the podium, Gregoria displayed high performance and fighting spirit to defeat the best players from their respective countries. She overcame Kim Ga-eun (South Korea) in the round of 16 and then Ratchanok Intanon in the quarter-finals.

In the semifinals, Gregoria lost to An, but she put up a tough fight in three games. Gregoria lost 21-11, 13-21, 16-21.

More than a year and three weeks since the best moment of her career, Gregoria returned to the Adidas Arena. "I am happy to be back here, this time for the World Championship. I hope the good memories from the Olympics can motivate me for the World Championship," said Gregoria in a video uploaded by PBSI on the Instagram account badminton.ina.

When she became the only female singles player from Indonesia at the Olympics, this time Gregoria was accompanied by Putri Kusuma Wardani. Gregoria is scheduled to compete in the first round against Petra Maixnerova (Czech Republic) on Monday (25/8/2025), while Putri's match against Lo Sin Yan Happy (Hong Kong) will take place the following day.

If she wins the first three rounds, Gregoria has the opportunity to repeat her encounter with An at the Adidas Arena, this time in the quarter-finals. However, the world number seven player does not want to rush into thinking about any matches other than the first round.

When met during a training session at the Cipayung badminton national training center in Jakarta, Gregoria stated that she has personal targets; however, what is more important for her is to be able to play comfortably without the effects of vertigo.

The condition that causes dizziness and loss of balance has affected her, leading to an absence from competitions for three months, including the Sudirman Cup in May. Gregoria returned to compete in Japan and the China Open in July, with results of losing in the first round and the quarter-finals.

"I hope to perform better than in Japan and China. I hope to compete again with the motivation and spirit I had before I fell ill, because when I was sick, my mind was like a 'race', between wanting to recover quickly and wanting to compete quickly," he stated.

The women's singles coach, Imam Tohari, stated that Gregoria's physical condition is actually fit if her vertigo does not recur. The slow movement of Gregoria while playing in Japan and China is a result of the 26-year-old athlete's absence from tournaments for three months.

Gregoria's struggle to win a medal at Paris 2024 is accompanied by her teammates, the male athletes who were eliminated earlier. Anthony, Jonatan, Fajar, and Rian provide encouragement akin to that of older brothers to a younger sister. However, unlike their younger sister, Anthony and his friends do not wish to be overshadowed by the memories of Paris 2024.

At the Adidas Arena a year ago, Anthony was eliminated in the group stage due to one loss from two matches. The defeat was suffered against the host athlete, Toma Junior Popov, with scores of 19-21, 21-17, 15-21. This result placed Anthony in second place in the group and he failed to qualify as the group champion to advance to the round of 16.

Unexpectedly, Popov will be Anthony's opponent in the first round of the World Championship, which will take place on the second day of the tournament. "I am certainly thinking about the Olympic results, but I do not want to focus on that. It is better for me to concentrate on what I can do and prepare for the match because Popov is not an easy opponent. However, this is a new tournament and a new day, and there will definitely be new opportunities for me to achieve," said Anthony.

The World Championship in Paris is Anthony's fourth tournament in 2025. A right shoulder injury limited him to only participating in the Malaysia Open at the beginning of the year. After that, Anthony only competed in the Japan and China Opens in July.

The bronze medalist in men's singles at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was one of two representatives for Indonesia in men's singles, alongside Jonatan; however, both were eliminated in the group stage. Jonatan's elimination was determined by his defeat to Lakhsya Sen (India), who advanced to the knockout phase.

Players who were also eliminated in the group stage include Rinov/Pitha and Apriyani Rahayu/Fadia. Except for Apriyani, they return to the same place with renewed motivation. In the World Championship, Fadia plays alongside Lanny Tria Mayasari.

"Returning here, my feelings are mixed. I am happy to be back after a less favorable result last year. I hope the outcome will be better at the World Championship," said Fadia.

At the Olympics, Apriyani/Fadia consistently lost in three matches in a tough group. They competed against Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (Malaysia), Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (Japan), and Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan (China), who ultimately won the gold medal.

Rinov/Pitha also competed against the Chinese pair who ultimately became champions, Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong, in the group stage. In addition, they lost to Kim Won-ho/Jeong Na-eun (South Korea) and Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue (France).

"I am grateful and happy to be back here. I can certainly recall the moments of the Olympics, how it felt to experience that time. I want to take the positive aspects to be more motivated," said Pitha.

Hope for a better outcome was also expressed by Fajar. Together with Rian, who is participating in his first Olympics in Paris 2024, Fajar was eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing to Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (China). Their motivation has doubled as Paris 2025 could potentially be the last World Championship for Fajar/Rian as a pair.

The determination has been expressed, and preparations have been made for about a month. Now it is time to prove oneself to achieve better results in the same place with a renewed spirit.