IO – Hendra Setiawan has again been showered with rewards. The men’s doubles badminton world champion, whose partner is Mohammad Ahsan, has received a bonus from his club, Jaya Raya. Hendra was awarded IDR 500 million.
The awarding ceremony was carried out simultaneously with the 58th anniversary of PT Pembangunan Jaya in GOR Jaya Raya, Bintaro, South Tangerang on Tuesday, September 3. Previously, Hendra was awarded a IDR 240m bonus from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
What will Hendra do with the windfall? “I’ll save it first,” said the 35-year-old badminton player, who has won the men’s doubles world championship four times. Hendra won his first world championship in 2007 when partnered with Markis Kido. The year after, he won the gold medal in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. He then went on to win the world championship with Ahsan in 2013, 2015, 2019.
How does an older athlete keep their physical condition up to standard? “The formula is training, maintaining your condition, and resting. You can’t force yourself. I always try to complete the training program given by the coach, but if I don’t feel strong enough, I will say so and ask for a break,” Hendra said.
As a not so young pair – Ahsan will turn 32 on September 7 – maintaining a healthy physique and resting enough is very important. “If injured or sick, we need more time to recover. That’s why we can’t force ourselves,” said Hendra.
Despite having won everything, including the Olympic gold medal, Hendra still wants to win the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medal with Ahsan. “What’s important now is qualifying so that we can play in the Tokyo Olympics. After qualifying, then (we will) think about how to win the gold medal. The journey is still long.”
Although older, Hendra hasn’t given to much thought into what he will be doing after he retires. “Maybe I will go into the business world, but I haven’t thought what kind,” he said laughing.
Besides Hendra, Jaya Raya club members Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu and Muhammad Rian Ardianto (partnered with Fajar Alfian), who won bronze medals in the World Championship 2019, were each given IDR 125 million bonuses. A IDR 50 million bonus was also given to men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pirngadi and a IDR 30 million bonus was given to women’s doubles coach Eng Hian. (rp)