Indonesian women’s single, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, admitted to being sad and confused amid the certainty of winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Gregoria Mariska officially received a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics after Carolina Marin (Spain) who was supposed to be her opponent in the third place (bronze medal) match withdrew due to a knee injury, Sunday (4/8/2024).
Regarding this, Gregoria admitted that it was not the way to get the medal she wanted. “Certainly this is not the way to get the medal I wanted, it’s also sad to see (Carolina) Marin in that condition, injured again,” said Jorji, Gregoria’s nickname. “Confused, yes, it’s really wrong for me to be happy with other people’s suffering. This is a disaster for Marin, but I’m confused about reacting, like I don’t want this to happen. Honestly, I’m very grateful for the medal, but not happy,” she said, quoted from NOC Indonesia.
The Wonogiri-born women’s singles also expressed her sportsmanship and sympathy for Carolina Marin, an important value of sports, above all else. She admitted that she was grateful for the bronze medal, but did not want to be too happy.
“I know all athletes prepare for the Olympics very seriously and work hard, so it must not be easy for her to face this,” said Gregoria. “I am grateful to get a bronze medal, but I don’t have to be too happy or anything because as athletes, I know that our struggles are very difficult, especially when dealing with injuries,” she said.
Gregoria’s fighting spirit
Apart from that, Gregoria performed well and was full of high fighting spirit during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite losing to An Se-young in the semifinals, the 24-year-old badminton player has fallen and risen, and made her opponent fall and rise too. Previously, Gregoria was defeated by An Se-Young 21-13, 11-21, and 16-21 in the semifinals held at the Port de la Chapelle Arena.
In the other semifinal, Carolina Marin from Spain won the first game 21-14 over China’s He Bing Jiao, but she suffered an injury when the second game was 10-8. This condition made Carolina Marin unable to continue her match in the semifinals.
