THE BEST OF JUNIORS – PUTRI KUSUMA WARDANI OF INDONESIA
At 18 years old, Putri Kusuma Wardani is a force to be reckoned with in the badminton Junior’s world. Born in Tangerang, Indonesia, she is currently #5 BWF Junior rankings for Women’s singles and #261 in the World Rankings for Women’s singles, a very impressive feat for a Junior player.
As of June 24, 2020, Putri has won the semi-final match against Asti Dwi Widyaningrum (21-15, 21-18) in the PBSI (Indonesian National Badminton Federation) Home Tournament. She advances to the final match and will play against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung for the Gold medal. PBSI is the governing body of badminton in Indonesia, founded in 1951. They are currently hosting a home tournament in Indonesia, as most international tournaments have been cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We wish her all the best for the upcoming match!
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She is currently a player from Exist Jakarta Club, and has started training at the national training center just 2 years ago in 2018. On the national stage, she and her club won the 2018 Superliga Junior. In the same year, she was chosen to represent the National team to compete at the 2018 Asian and World Junior Championships, claiming a bronze medal in both of the tournaments.
Not only has she been shining at the national stage, but she has been impressive at the international tournaments’ too. At 16 years, she reached the finals of the Bangladesh International Challenge, only losing to Vietnamese player Nguyễn Thùy Linh. Despite the loss, this did not discourage her from playing and trying harder. In 2019, she won her first title ever at the Jakarta Junior International Series, beating fellow Indonesian player Maharani Sekar Batari, with the score 21-19, 21-18.
That same year, she helped write history for Indonesian Juniors Badminton. At the 2019 World Junior Championships, she along with the Indonesian team, won the Suhandinata Cup for the first time for their country where they managed to defeat the Chinese team in the finals of the cup.
We hope that once tournaments start again, we can see her play, improve and achieve more!
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