Pertiwi looks to blaze a trail as V League's first Indonesian player

Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi hopes to blaze a trail with Daejeon KGC in the upcoming 2023-24 V League season as she makes her debut as the first-ever Indonesian volleyball player to compete in the Korean league.

Daejeon KGC's Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi poses for a photo during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at KGC's training center in Daejeon in July. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi hopes to blaze a trail with Daejeon KGC in the upcoming 2023-24 V League season as she makes her debut as the first-ever Indonesian volleyball player to compete in the Korean league.

“I want to show a good performance and I want to reach the championship with my teammates and win it,” Pertiwi said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at KGC’s training center in Daejeon last month.

The championship is the final postseason tournament in which the league winners, runners-up and third-placed team — or the winner of a so-called semi-playoff between the third and fourth-place team if the gap is three points or less — compete to be crowned champions.

Pertiwi, 23, joined KGC this summer through the Asian Quota Draft — a new system adopted this year through which teams can add an extra foreign player to their squad from selected Asian countries.

Playing as an opposite, Pertiwi transferred from Indonesian team Jakarta Pertamina Fastron, where she finished last season as runner-up in the Indonesian volleyball league.

She also won the best opposite award at the 2023 Asian Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup, where Indonesia finished as runners-up.

“Both her attack and blocks are good,” KGC head coach Ko Hee-jin said. “Her attitude during training is good and she is diligent.”

Pertiwi used to be a footballer until her father suggested she try volleyball.

“I am happy that I can play in Korea as the first Indonesian player,” she said. “I will perform well so that other players can come here too.

“Shin Tae-yong, who leads the Indonesian national football team as manager, is well-known in Indonesia. I will also introduce Indonesia to Korea.”

Pertiwi is a Muslim, and will become the first player to appear in the V League wearing a hijab.

“I brought the hijab I use for games,” she said. “The ones I wear when going out are fancier. I brought a total of 16 hijabs, including the ones I wear at home."

Pertiwi registered her name as “Mega” in the V League as her teammates and coach find it easier to pronounce. She even accepted the nickname, “Megatron” — the name of a robot villain in the movie “Transformers.”

KGC were four points behind third-place Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass last season on the seven-team table. If they had finished with one more point, they would have played the semi-playoff against Hi-Pass.

Pertiwi was not able to compete in the Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup that ended on Aug. 5, where KGC reached the semifinals, as all foreign players were not issued an International Transfer Certificate — a required document to play in the Cup.

She will be in action with KGC once the 2023-24 season begins on Oct. 14.

With Pertiwi expected to boost KGC’s attack in the upcoming season, the Daejeon side will look to redeem themselves from the past failures in the league, where they have failed to reach the playoffs for the six consecutive seasons. The last time they won the league was in 2012, when they also won the championship.

BY KIM HYO-KYUNG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]