JAKARTA – The International Badminton Federation (BWF) has accepted the request for protected ranking submitted by female tennis athlete Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
The Indonesian Badminton Federation (PBSI) indicated that the ranking protection has a minimum validity of three months to one year, starting from December 30, 2025.
“The request for protected classification was made by PBSI in accordance with BWF regulations due to the vertigo illness from which Gregoria suffers,” PBSI said, as learned by the press.
This condition led to Gregoria needing continued medical treatment and a measured recovery period so that she could not participate in the series of international tournaments featured in the BWF competition calendar.
Ranking protection gives Gregoria the right to use the protected ranking when registering for a BWF tournament after being declared ready to return to play. Gregoria’s position will not weaken even if she is absent from the BWF round.
Head of PBSI’s Training and Achievements Division (Kabid Binpres), Eng Hian, insisted that the health status of athletes was the top priority in all decisions.
“During the recovery period, Gregoria will receive careful support and monitoring from the PBSI support team so that the recovery process can function optimally and continuously,” he said.
Protecting this ranking automatically allows Gregoria to spend the recovery time well before strengthening the Indonesian again in many international tournaments.
Eng Hian said he highly respected and appreciated the BWF’s decision to approve the request for protected classification for the bronze medalist athlete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“This decision gives athletes time to focus on their recovery without having to worry about the consequences on their world rankings,” he added.
Gregoria has been confirmed to be out of the 2026 Malaysian Open tournament which will take place next week at Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur. The move leaves the only Indonesian woman facing Putri Kusuma Wardani.
Tag: gregoria mariska tunjung bwf badminton pbsi badminton
