Mental health issue prods Pramudya into hanging up racquet
PETALING JAYA: Indonesian shuttler Pramudya Kusumawardana has made the surprise decision to hang up his racquet at the age of 23.
Pramudya, who captured the 2022 Asian Championships title along with Yeremia Rambitan in the men’s doubles, released a statement announcing his retirement from the sport in the Indonesian national team’s (PBSI) official website recently.
“The first reason for my retirement is my mental health which has not been good and has affected my daily life,” said Pramudya.
“Secondly, I still believe education is really important and I want to study sports science and sports psychology overseas as I feel it is not conducive for professional athletes to pursue their studies in Indonesia.
“Thirdly, based on my progress with Yeremia, I don’t think we have the chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Lastly, I am a normal human being with my own targets and dreams and this led me to make this decision,” added Pramudya, who reached a career high No. 11 with Yeremia at the end of last year before dropping to No. 18 in the latest rankings.
The pair are the fifth ranked Indonesians behind Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (No. 6), Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana (No. 9), Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin (No. 11) and Hendra Setiawan-Mohd Ahsan.
Only two pairs from each country can make the cut for the Olympics provided both are ranked in the top eight before the qualifying window closes next April.
Pramudya also revealed that the decision to retire was not one taken lightly.
“I’ve been thinking about this since the beginning of the year,” said Pramudya.
“I discussed with my coach and also tried to do my best in my past few tournaments.
“After the Japan and China Masters last month, I made up my mind to go through with this decision.
“I wish Yeremia success in his career after this.”
Pramudya and Yeremia had suffered a second-round exit in Japan before losing in the last eight in China.
The duo had only reached the semi-finals once in World Tour competitions this year – at their home Open in June where they lost to national pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
Their best result this year was capturing gold in the Cambodia SEA Games in May.
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