Fans flock to Daejeon to see new star Megawati in action

The Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks’ Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi [JOONGANG ILBO]

Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks’ new signee Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi’s impact has been immediately visible both on and off the court, with a growing number of Indonesian volleyball fans attending V League games to see her in action.

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

After joining the Red Sparks ahead of the 2023-24 season through the Asia Quota Draft — a new system adopted this year through which teams can add an extra foreign player to their squad from selected Asian countries — the Indonesian opposite hitter has boosted the team’s attack.

Mega has scored 226 points across 10 league games so far, putting her at No. 5 on the V League top scorer table as of Thursday.

Her impact off the court is also clear, as more Indonesian volleyball fans have started to attend the Red Sparks’ games in person to watch her play.

“About 70 [Indonesian] fans visited our home game over the weekend,” Red Sparks’ Public Relations Team Leader said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo earlier this month. “The number grew to 150 during a game against the Gwangju AI Peppers [on Nov. 5]. A lot of them were from Ansan[Gyeonggi] and some of them from Daegu or Changwon [South Gyeongsang] charted a bus to come to the game.”

Ansan is a city with a big international population and around 2,000 Indonesian workers live in the area.

The Indonesian people in the city have been passionate about seeing Indonesian players competing in Korea. When Indonesian footballer Asnawi Mangkualam Bahar made his debut for the Ansan Greeners in 2021, it also drew great attention from the local diaspora.

“I know who Asnawi is,” Mega said. “I wish I could be as famous as him and I hope other [Indonesian players] come to Korea too.”

Thanks to Mega’s impressive performance that has allowed the Red Sparks to manage some remarkable wins this season — beating last season’s league champions Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders 3-2 on Oct. 26 and runners-up Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate 3-0 on Oct. 29 — the Daejeon side has seen a huge increase in social media followers as well.

The club has over 100,000 Instagram followers as of Thursday, compared to about 20,000 in July.

Mega’s impact and popularity has also caught the eye of Korean media, with broadcaster SBS producing a highlight reel of her plays of her this season.

She will continue to be in action in the V League, as the Red Sparks look to reach the postseason for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

The Red Sparks will face the Hwaseong IBK Altos on Friday at Hwaseong Gymnasium in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.

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