Vertigo Recurrence, Gregoria Absent in China and Korea

SHENZHEN, MONDAY – After competing in three championships, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung must withdraw again from a badminton tournament. The vertigo she experienced upon arriving in Shenzhen, China, has led Gregoria to withdraw from the China Masters and the Korea Open tournaments in the past two weeks.

Gregoria complained of recurring vertigo upon arrival. After resting, her condition remained unstable as of Monday afternoon.

Gregoria was supposed to be the sole representative of Indonesia in the two tournaments alongside Putri Kusuma Wardani. However, after arriving in Shenzhen on Sunday (14/9/2025), Gregoria decided to withdraw from the China Masters BWF World Tour Super 750 taking place at Shenzhen Arena from September 16 to 21. She will return to Jakarta for treatment and recovery, thus missing the Korea Open from September 23 to 28.

"Gregoria complained of a recurrence of her vertigo upon arriving here. After resting, her condition has not stabilized until this afternoon (Monday). I discussed with her coach, Imam Tohari, and it was decided that Gregoria would withdraw from participating in the China Masters and the Korea Open," said the Head of Development and Achievement Division of PP PBSI Eng Hian in Shenzhen, China, on Monday.

Eng Hian added that the management and coaches will not force Gregoria to return to the court quickly. They will wait for the eighth-ranked women's singles player in the world to fully recover.

Before the China Masters and Korea Open, Gregoria was absent for three months due to vertigo. After competing from the beginning of the year until the Asian Championships in China in mid-April, she missed several tournaments, including the Sudirman Cup and the Indonesia Open, for medical examinations and therapy.

When the vertigo, which caused her to lose balance and vomit, improved, Gregoria returned to the tournament during the Japan Open, held from July 15 to 20, but was eliminated in the first round.

After that, the agenda continued to the China Open, where it reached the quarter-finals, followed by the World Championship in Paris, France, from August 25 to 31. At the venue where she won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Gregoria only lasted until the third round.

Now, he must take a break again from the series of tournaments in East Asia to try to get fit in order to have a chance to compete in the European tour in October.

Without Gregoria, Putri becomes the only women's singles representative from Indonesia at the China Masters. The player, seeded seventh, will face Chiu Pin Chian (Taiwan) in the first round.

In the upper half of the draw, Putri joins other top seeds, namely An Se-young (1), Akane Yamaguchi (4), and Pornpawee Chochuwong (6). Meanwhile, in the lower half of the draw, top players from China are gathered, including Wang Zhi Yi (2), Han Yue (3), and Chen Yu Fei (5).

In the men's singles category, three Indonesian players are in the same section of the draw, specifically in the lower half. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Alwi Farhan even have the potential to meet in the second round if they can win their opening matches. Anthony will face Leong Jun Hao (Malaysia), while Alwi will compete against the fourth seed from China, Li Shi Feng.

Another player, Jonatan Christie (5), will face Kenta Nishimoto as his first opponent. They will meet for the 20th time after Jonatan lost in their last encounter in the first round of the Japan Open in July.

For the women's doubles squad, the China Masters serves as the second test after they changed partners. Except for Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, who are absent in China, three pairs will compete after participating in the Hong Kong Open last week. They are Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, Lanny Tria Mayasari/Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi, and Rachel Alessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum.

In Hong Kong, except for Rachel/Febi who lost to Apriyani/Fadia in the first round, the other pairs were eliminated in the second round by top players from around the world. Apriyani/Fadia were defeated by Arisa Higarashi/Chiharu Shida, Lanny/Amalia lost to another Japanese pair, Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi, while Febriana/Meilysa were ousted by Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan.

The women's doubles coach of the national training center, Karel Mainaky, hopes that Febriana and her teammates can improve their performance compared to when they competed in Hong Kong. "The performance of Febriana/Meilysa and Rachel/Febi was quite good, although they still need time to build confidence. The homework lies with Lanny/Amalia, who have yet to find the right rhythm and playing pattern. I hope they can play better. It is not easy, but it is not impossible," said Karel.

Competing as unseeded pairs in a high-level tournament, the Indonesian women's doubles must accept the risks of facing top players in the early rounds. For instance, Febriana/Meilysa will confront Tan/Muralitharan in the first round after their defeat in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Lanny/Amalia will immediately face the top seeds, the world champions Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning (China).

The men's doubles squad is also represented by the new pair, Muhammad Rian Ardianto/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan, who will face the third-seeded pair from Malaysia, Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izuddin. They teamed up because Rian's partner, Fajar Alfian, is playing again with Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, as was the case in the Japan and China Opens.

Last July, Fajar/Fikri participated in both tournaments because Rian was absent from the tournament to await the birth of his first child. At the same time, Daniel Marthin, as Fikri's partner, was undergoing recovery from an injury to his left leg. Daniel is even expected to be able to compete only at the beginning of January.