Gregoria's Return to Indonesia Separated from the Badminton Team

Gregoria Mariska Tunjung did not return to Indonesia with the badminton team (doc. PBSI).

JAKARTA – Badminton player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung is scheduled to return to Indonesia without being with the 2024 Paris Olympic badminton team because she still has other agendas.

The 2024 Olympic Ad Hoc Team said in its latest statement that the Wonogiri-born athlete will only return to Indonesia on Friday, August 9, 2024.

"Gregoria will return to Indonesia on August 9, 2024 because she is still supporting a number of Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC) programs in Paris," the statement read.

The badminton team's return schedule is certain to not be disrupted and will run as originally planned even though they have just been hit by problems. They will fly from Paris on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

The badminton team's return was initially expected to be delayed after their money amounting to 53 thousand euros or equivalent to IDR 950 million was stolen by a theft syndicate in Paris.

The money was in the bag of PBSI's badminton team manager, Armand Darmadji. The bag was stolen from inside a car on Monday, August 5, 2024, at around 5:30 p.m. local time.

The theft syndicate used a method of deflating the car's tires. They then told Puspa Irawati (Shendy) who was with Armand to buy team supplies about the flat tire.

Shendy then passed on the information to Armand. Without thinking twice, Armand immediately got out of the car to check the tire in question.

After finding out about the flat tire, Armand rushed to call the car rental company to report it. Meanwhile, Shendy went to the shops.

The rental company then asked for the complete address of Armand's location. Because he didn't understand, Armand decided to go to the police who were about three meters behind the Indonesian badminton team's official car.

Unfortunately, when he returned to the car, the bag was gone. In addition to containing cash, the bag also contained credit cards and a passport.

The incident has been reported to the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in Paris. The KBRI immediately provided maximum assistance through staff and the local police.