Jakarta: Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Herry Iman Pierngadi exchanged apologies in a virtual press conference held by the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) on Friday.
Pierngadi was first invited to give a few words regarding his conflicts with Sukamuljo.
“First of all, thank you Mr. Chairman of PBSI Agung Firman and Mr. Alex for facilitating the mediation process. This is not a big problem. It’s just the media who make it a big deal and Kevin and I have been working together for a long time, and I always treat him as my children,” said Pierngadi.
“Indeed, if I made a mistake, and yes, I did apologize to Kevin. We and all the men’s doubles have met yesterday, it’s all good now. Sorry and Kevin has accepted my apology,” added Pierngadi.
Here’s the voice recording of their virtual press conference:
“And this morning we had a training session together, so I think this problem is now solved and as explained by the chairman, Mr. Agung, there was really not a problem. The friction seems normal, only the media made it a big deal,” emphasized Pierngadi.
Sukamuljo then took his turn to issue his apologies.
“I apologize for what has happened. We have talked, we have met each other to solve this problem and from my side, I want to apologize if I made a mistake,” said Sukamuljo.
At the same press conference, PBSI also ensured that the conflict between Sukamuljo and Pierngadi has reached a satisfactory resolution.
The conflict between Sukamuljo and Pierngadi emerged about one week ago when the former World No. 1 men’s doubles player refused to train with Pierngadi at the Indonesian national training center. Instead, he chose to train independently with mixed doubles players or with his friends.
In an interview with CNN Indonesia, Sukamuljo also revealed that he and his men’s doubles partner, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon have always been neglected by Pierngadi ever since they joined the Indonesian national team.
