JAKARTA - Greysia Polii said that the success of winning a gold medal with Apriyani Rahayu at the Tokyo Olympics could not be separated from the support of many parties, including SOE Minister Erick Thohir who gave a distinct impression on his badminton career because he had accompanied him when he fell at the 2012 London Olympics.
"Thank you sir (Erick Thohir), the father who always told me not to give up," said Greysia during a video conference which Erick then uploaded to his Instagram account, Monday.
Gresyia's gratitude cannot be separated from the role of Erick Thohir while serving as Chef de Mission (CdM) of the Indonesian Contingent at the London Olympics. At that time, Erick continued to encourage and motivate Greysia, who was disqualified with her partner, Meiliana Jauhari.
Greysia/Meiliana are considered to have deliberately given up in the last match of the Group C preliminary round against South Korean representatives Ha Jung Eun/Kim Min Jung. They allegedly did this to avoid the Chinese pair Wang Xiaoli / Yu Yang in the quarter-finals.
Four years later, Greysia again appeared at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Brazil 2016 with Nitya Krishinda Maheswari by reaching the quarter-finals. Shortly after, Nitya was seriously injured. Greysia also lost a partner until she thought about ending her career as a badminton player.
"Father, when 2012 always told me, go ahead for 2016. In 2016, at that time you also said to me 'don't stop now Greys, 2020 is still there'. And this is the prize for you, sir," said Greysia while lifting her gold medal .
On this occasion, Erick congratulated and was proud of Gresyia and Apriyani. According to him, the two of them have gone through many things to finally achieve the highest achievement on the Olympic stage.
Erick also remembers when he served as CdM for the Indonesian Team at the London Olympics. "At that time, Greysia Polii with her partner Meiliana Jauhari had to withdraw from the Olympics. As a CdM there was no time to be disappointed, I had to lift Greysia's spirit again," said Erick.
"Today is proof of the struggle. The fruit of hard work and extraordinary persistence. An attitude that can be an example for other nation's children, that there is always hope as long as we keep trying and give our best," said Erick, who currently serves as International Olympic Committee (IOC) Members.
Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu won gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics after defeating the Chinese pair Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo, Monday, in two straight games 21-19, 21-15.
The victory also continued the golden tradition of badminton at the Olympics. Except for London, Indonesia has always succeeded in bringing home gold at the biggest sporting event in the world.
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