Ready To Fight At The 2021 Indonesia Badminton Festival, Greysia/Apriyani Are Not Complacent With The Olympic Title

Greysia/Apriyani (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The title of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics won by the women's doubles Greysa Polii / Apriyani Rahayu did not make them complacent in facing three tournaments at the 2021 Indonesia Badminton Festival which took place in Nusa Dua on November 16- December 5.

For them, an Olympic gold medal is a highlight of a career as an athlete but that doesn't mean they are overconfident and underestimate other tournaments.

"Being a champion in a big event will definitely increase our confidence in the field. But it doesn't make us complacent, because our profession is playing badminton, competing. That's what we must always instill in our spirit," said Greysia as reported by Antara, Monday.

The brilliant results achieved in Tokyo undeniably made Greysia/Apriyani have doubled their confidence in the competition arena.

Their achievements break the pessimistic view on the national women's doubles sector, because Greysia/Apriyani are now the first Indonesian hero pair to win a gold medal from the Olympics.

"We still have other tasks to deal with, that's all that makes us try to put out a consistent performance," she said.

This new spirit also encouraged Apriyani to be able to enjoy matches in the tournament after the Tokyo Olympics.

Although his performance on the European tour for 1.5 months was not good, she considered the failure not because she was complacent. But more because of physical fatigue due to competing continuously after the Olympics.

She also assessed that this problem was not only experienced by her and Greysia, but also all players from the Indonesian national team or from other countries considering the tight schedule of the tournament until the end of 2021.

"The important thing is how we carry ourselves in the field so that we are not burdened. If people have more expectations, that's normal. I really thank you if people pray for the best for us. We just enjoy it, and I just always fight," said Apriyani.

At the IBF 2021 event, Greysia/Apriyani will certainly play in three tournaments, namely the Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open, and BWF World Tour Finals. The world number six women's doubles has the right to secure a ticket to WTF 2021 thanks to her victory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last August.