Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi Looks at Second Season in Korea

Megawati Hangestri will return to strengthen the Red Sparks. Aulia Suci and Yolla Yuliana failed to follow her steps in Korea.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Indonesian player of Daejeon CheongKwanJang Red Sparks Korea, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, was warmly welcomed by the audience before facing the Indonesian All Star Women's Volleyball Team in a friendly match of Fun Volley Ball at the Indonesia Arena Stadium, Gelora Bung Karno Complex, Jakarta, on Saturday (20/4/2024).

Indonesian female volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, will officially return to her career in the Korean Volleyball League or V League with Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks. Megawati will also get a salary increase along with the contract extension. However, Megawati's move to play in South Korea failed to be followed by two other Indonesian players, Yolla Yuliana and Aulia Suci Nurfadila.

Megawati's certainty about strengthening Red Sparks in the Korean Volleyball League for the 2024-2025 season was known on Wednesday (1/5/2024). The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) held an event to announce the Asia Quarter Draft try out results in Jeju, South Korea. In the event, the presenter first explained that Red Sparks extended Megawati's contract.

Megawati was part of two former foreign players from Asia last season who chose to re-sign with their old teams. Thai player, Wipawee Srithong, also rejoined Suwon Hyundai Engineering and Construction Hillstate.

The coaches then took to the stage and announced their chosen players. The coach of Red Sparks, Ko Hee-jin, announced the name Megawati while carrying a doll and a sign bearing the player's name.

RED SPARKS

Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks coach, Ko Hee-jin, held a Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi doll and the player's name when introducing him as an Asian foreign player whose contract was extended by Red Sparks on Wednesday (1/5/2024).

Not long after the event, Red Sparks officially announced through their Instagram account that Megawati had joined the team. The day before the announcement, Ko Hee-jin had confirmed that Megawati would stay with Red Sparks for the next season.

"We decided to extend Megawati's contract without hesitation," said Ko Hee Jin, quoted by South Korean media, The Sports Times, via Naver.

"Mega also wants to demonstrate a better performance next season. We will make better preparations to create good synergy for the next season," he added.

In an interview with Korean media SBS, Ko Hee-jin also explained the reasons why she chose to extend Megawati's contract. In addition to rarely skipping training, Megawati has a strong body and a great mind.

"The greatest strength of Mega is her ability to interact well with players in terms of personality. A strong personality with good abilities and good teamwork. This is why, as a coach, I have no choice but to extend Mega's contract," said Ko Hee-jin.

"To be honest, I was worried before that Mega would move to another league. In the future, I think it's possible to meet players who are better at playing volleyball than Mega, but it's not easy to meet players with her personality," he said.

Also read: Little by little, Megawati "Megatron" Hangestri is increasingly explosive

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

The expression of Indonesian women's volleyball player who strengthens the Red Sparks Korea team, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, after scoring against the Indonesia All Star Women's Volleyball Team in a friendly match of Fun Volley Ball at the Indonesia Arena Stadium, Gelora Bung Karno Complex, Jakarta, on Saturday (20/4/2024).

By entering her second season in the Korean Volleyball League, Megawati will receive a salary increase. According to the KOVO regulations released on its official website, foreign players in their second year will receive a gross income of $120,000 US dollars or equivalent to 1.9 billion Indonesian rupiahs. Last season, Megawati received $100,000 US dollars.

The salary is paid over a period of 9 months, starting from July 2024 to March 2025. The contract period starts from the signing until May 31st, 2025.

In addition to their salary, these foreign players from Asia will also receive a winning allowance of $500 USD per match. If they manage to win the championship title, they will also receive a bonus of $10,000 USD.

Megawati is currently strengthening Jakarta BIN to compete in the Indonesian professional volleyball league, Proliga 2024. This competition ends on June 21 2024 so it is certain that Megawati will go straight to South Korea after competing in the Proliga.

In the 2023-2024 V League season, Megawati led the Red Sparks to end their drought of appearing in the playoffs for seven years. Megawati also helped the Red Sparks achieve seven consecutive wins, the first time in 15 years.

Moreover, Megawati is in the seventh position of the list of the highest point scorers in the V League. From 35 matches and 132 sets played, Megawati scored 736 points. In terms of attack, this player from Jember, East Java even ranks fourth with an effectiveness rate of 43.95 percent.

Also read: Multiple Effects of Megawati ”Megatron” for Korean Volleyball League Clubs

We decided to extend Megawati's contract without hesitation.

KOMPAS/REBIYYAH SALASAH

The Jakarta BIN players, including Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, celebrated their success in scoring points during the first week of the Proliga 2024 match against Bandung bjb Tandamata at GOR Amongrogo, Yogyakarta, on Saturday (27/4/2024).

”I'm happy because I didn't expect people to be so enthusiastic about me. I don't believe in raising the popularity of volleyball in Indonesia. "I am grateful and happy for that even though it also gives me greater responsibility," said Megawati, quoted from the Korea JoongAng Daily, last April.

V League enthusiasm

The presence of Megawati in the V League has also brought enthusiasm to fans of volleyball in the homeland. For example, Ari Wibowo (48), started watching the Korean Volleyball League after Megawati's arrival. As a fan of volleyball, Ari is pleased to have an Indonesian female player who can have a career abroad.

Ari became a fan of the Red Sparks players after watching their matches. This resident of Bekasi, West Java, became part of the fan base willing to spend up to Rp 5.5 million to buy tickets for a signing event with the players. The ticket also included watching the exhibition match between the Indonesian national team and Red Sparks at the Indonesia Arena Stadium on April 20th.

Also read: When Indonesian Volleyball "Rided" the Korean Wave

KOMPAS/REBIYYAH SALASAH

Fans take photos with Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi at a joint autograph (fansign) event at the Indonesia Arena Stadium, Saturday (20/4/2024). This activity is a series of exhibition matches between the Indonesian national team and Red Sparks entitled "Fun Volleyball".

"I've been following all of Red Sparks' matches since the first round, solely because Megawati is there, and I enjoy volleyball. I hope Aulia (Suci Nurfadila) and Yolla (Yuliana) can also play there so it will be even more exciting," said Ari.

Yolla and Aulia were not selected

However, unlike Ari's hopes, Yolla and Aulia, who participated in the try out in the Asia Quarter Draft, were not selected to play in Korea.

Following Red Sparks and Hillstate's decision to extend their contracts with existing players, only five clubs participated in the draft process for a single foreign Asian player. Three of the five selected players are Chinese volleyball players while the remaining two are from Kazakhstan and Australia.

This means that the two Indonesian players who took part in the try out, Yolla Yuliana and Aulia Suci Nurfadila, were not selected. Both of them have not succeeded in following Megawati's footsteps in pursuing a career in South Korea.

HUMAS PP PBVSI

Setter Arneta Putri Amelia (right), middleblocker Yolla Yuliana, and outside hitter Aulia Suci Nurfadila (left) preparing to serve in the first match of Group A of the AVC Challenge Cup Women's Volleyball Championship at GOR Tri Dharma, Gresik, East Java, Sunday (18/6/2023).

This season, the selection has been expanded to all 64 member countries of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC). Consequently, the competition has become even tougher. Yolla Yuliana and Aulia Suci Nurfadila must compete with 29 new applicants.

Moreover, Yolla and Aulia's competitors come from a country with a women's volleyball national team ranked in the top 10 in the world. China, which contributes three players, is the best-ranked Asian country in the world, occupying the sixth position.

Apart from that, Aulia and Yolla also have to compete with tall players. For the middle blocker position, for example, Yolla, who is 183 centimeters tall, competes with Chinese players with a height of up to 196 cm, namely Zhang Yu and Chen Xintong. These two Chinese players were finally both selected.