‘Badminton is in My Blood’

"When I decided to retire as an athlete, it wasn't because I had become an Olympic champion, but because it was time."

Greysia Polii made this statement before competing at the Indonesian Badminton Festival in Bali in October-November 2021. She confirmed then that she would be retiring as a professional athlete in 2022, but did not specify when. Greysia only said that she would not be participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics or the 2022 Tokyo World Championships.

Greysia started indicating her retirement when she and her badminton partner Apriyani Rahayu declined the invitation of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to compete in the World Championships on 22-28 Aug. 2022. They were eligible to play because they remain the top Indonesian women's doubles pair.

Greysia's retirement finally arrived eight months after speaking to Kompas in Bali, where she talked about the sacrifices she made to win the women's doubles gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, her retirement plans, and what she planned to do after retiring.

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Greysia formally announced her retirement at the "Testimonial Day Greysia Polii" event at Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Senayan, Jakarta, on Sunday (12/6/2022).

"Last night, I couldn't sleep. I fell asleep at 3 a.m., woke up at 6 a.m. I have mixed feelings because I was thinking, I will finally announce my retirement,” she said.

AP PHOTO/DITA ALANGKARA

Gold medalists Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu of Indonesia celebrate on the podium during the medal ceremony for the women’s doubles badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

At the same place 21 years ago, Greysia participated in her first competition at the age of 14 in the 2001 Indonesia Open, paired with Heni Budiman.

After that, she had multiple partners throughout her career. The BWF website notes that Greysia had played doubles with 20 different players, her last match with Apriyani, who couldn't hold back her tears at Greysia's farewell ceremony.

Some of her former partners who attended the event included Vita Marissa, Liliyana Natsir, and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari.

Also attending the event were her trainers and the administrators such as Retno Kustijah and Imelda Wigoeno of PB Jaya Raya, where Greysia has played badminton since she was 9 years old. Outside her family, they have been the closest and most important people in Greysia's 30-year career.

"There will come a time when she retires. Later, new senior [players] will come,” said Nitya, who won the gold medal together with Greysia at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. The Incheon gold was a breakthrough for Indonesia's women's doubles players, who were previously underestimated on the world stage.

Initially, Greysia planned to resign after the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics, as she intended to marry Felix Djimin at the end of 2017 or 2018. She had also told her mother of her plan.

"My mom said it was OK. Whatever my accomplishments up to that point, it was enough for her. It turned out, as my badminton journey continued, I got better results. I have no other words but to be grateful," said Greysia who, with her doubles partner Nitya, was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the 2016 Olympics.

However, it turned out that she simply couldn't leave the Cipayung national training center, especially when women's doubles badminton didn't have an equal successor. Greysia also sacrificed her personal life by postponing her wedding.

They also had the opportunity to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which was postponed one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The delay was not a matter of mere months, but almost two years. Surprisingly, her career was prolonged when she was paired with Apriyani and they became Indonesia's No. 1 women's doubles team. They also had the opportunity to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which was postponed one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Waiting for the Olympics until it was finally held on 23 July-8 August 2021 was one of the most difficult times in her career. Greysia experienced a rise and fall in psychological stress when she lost her older sister, Rickketsia Polii, who died of Covid-19 on 24 Dec. 2020. Here sister’s death came on the day after Greysia married Felix, who she said was the most patient person. In addition, her mother also contracted Covid-19.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Greysia Polii

She passed the point at which her patience was tested almost to the breaking point, and then a beautiful moment arrived at the right time at Tokyo 2020. It was the first time that the Indonesian women's doubles badminton team won a gold medal since it competed at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.

Despite making the greatest achievement that all athletes dream of, Greysia still had goals for the second half of 2021, one of which was to become the world champion. However, the Indonesian delegation finally withdrew from the World Championships that took place on 12-19 Dec. in Spain because of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Europe.

It did not achieve the goal of winning the All England 2022 due to Apriyani's right calf injury in the second half. That event ended up being Greysia's last match in the world of badminton, which she had lived since she was 5.

Still around

Apart from Indonesian badminton fans, Greysia will also be missed by her rivals, such as Jia Yifan. Jia, who is paired with Chen Qingchen, was one of the archrivals that Greysia/Apriyani defeated in the Tokyo 2020 final.

"We will miss her, she has always been a formidable opponent. Since childhood, I have always watched and actually wanted to learn more from Polii. I hope we can meet often when the [Covid-19] pandemic subsides, even though Polii isn’t playing anymore. May she be happier in life after retirement," said Jia.

It is a loss for everyone, but the time has come for her to retire.

Coach Eng Hian, who played a significant role in elevating the achievements of the Indonesian women's doubles team, said Greysia deserved being called a legend in Indonesian women's doubles badminton. "It is a loss for everyone, but the time has come for her to retire," said Eng.

The coach, who has accompanied Greysia since 2014, added that the Greysia/Apriyani pair had one characteristic that other players didn’t: They never complained or argued whenever there was a heavy exercise program.

“When Greysia says she's tired, it means she's reached her physical limit, but going on means she's still strong. That character is very extraordinary, because many players try to negotiate the training programs or say they are tired, even though they are still strong,” said Eng Hian.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

World badminton players pay their respects to Indonesian women's doubles badminton player, Greysia Polii (center), after appearing in a charity match on the sidelines of the Greysia Polii Testimonial Day event at Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Sunday (12/6/2022).

Even though she has confirmed that she will not compete in professional badminton again, Greysia will not immediately leave the world of badminton. To Eng, she promised to always be there as an elder sibling to her "sisters" at the Cipayung National Training Center.

"She also can't immediately leave badminton, which has been part of her daily life. So, once or two a week, we will play at Cipayung," said Eng.

As Greysia told around 5,000 people at Istora, badminton is in her blood, so she will always love the sport that has made her name. "Out of [my] 35 years, only the first five years of my life were not in badminton," she said.

(This article was trans;ated by Kurniawan Siswo)