Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi to reportedly leave Red Sparks to be closer to family
Published: 10 Apr. 2025, 14:06
Updated: 10 Apr. 2025, 14:08
-
- PAIK JI-HWAN
- [email protected]
![Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks outside hitter Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi celebrates during a V League game against the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on Jan. 26. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/04/10/05500a9d-b5ab-4b63-8f43-57ef4a11b252.jpg)
Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks outside hitter Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi celebrates during a V League game against the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on Jan. 26. [YONHAP]
Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks outside hitter Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi has reportedly decided to leave the V League to spend more time with her family in Indonesia, according to volleyball industry sources on Wednesday.
The Indonesian volleyball star, commonly referred to as “Mega,” has yet to decide where she will play next, but she looks set to move to her home country or elsewhere in Southeast Asia to support her family in closer proximity.
Her departure would leave the Red Sparks a big hole to fill, as she has been an integral part of the team’s attack since she joined the club ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Mega, 25, joined the Red Sparks through an Asia Quota draft — a system through which all seven V League teams can add an extra foreign player from selected Asian countries — and rose to prominence from her entry into the league.
She demonstrated remarkable attacking prowess throughout her V League debut season, ending the 2023-24 regular campaign as the team’s top scorer and seventh top scorer in the entire league at 736.
Her presence also helped the Red Sparks reach the postseason for the first time in seven years, leading the club to a playoff finish.
She re-signed with the Red Sparks ahead of the 2024-25 season and pulled off a strong performance again, finishing the regular campaign as the third top scorer in the league at 802 points and becoming the first Asia Quota pick to reach the 1,000-point mark in the process.
The Red Sparks reached their first V League Championship in 13 years this season on the back of Mega’s performance and finished as runners-up after losing 3-2 to the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders in the best-of-five series.
Mega’s presence has been visible even off the court since she joined the V League, as the Red Sparks’ Instagram saw a big increase in the number of followers due to her popularity, with follower numbers reaching over 410,000, compared to about 20,000 in July 2023.
The Red Sparks will look to the free agent market and Asia Quota draft ahead of next season to find a replacement for Mega.
BY PAIK JI-HWAN, KO BONG-JUN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)