Jakarta: A total of 82 individuals from the Badminton Association of Indonesia or PBSI, including athletes, coaches, and supporting staff have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, and the PBSI official website has confirmed that there’s no reported side effect from those who were vaccinated.
PBSI’s new Head of Development and Achievement, Rionny Mainaky admitted that he was a little worried before being vaccinated. However, after that, he felt like everything was normal.
“Before being vaccinated, I was a little afraid. But after that, I was very sure that there was no negative effect at all,” said Mainaky to PBSI.
“Thanks also to the government, finally we get vaccines for athletes who will be going to the Swiss Open and All England in March. Hopefully, there will be no side effects for them as well. As many as 82 people who were vaccinated today, and they are also in good condition,” added Mainaky.
Indonesia’s men’s doubles head coach, Herry Iman Pierngadi also said that he did not feel any effect 30 minutes after being vaccinated. He stressed that this vaccine will help players feel calm, as they don’t have to worry about becoming infected with COVID-19.
“It’s been 30 minutes, I feel normal. The hope is to avoid being exposed to Covid-19 especially when we are going to compete abroad. So, by getting this vaccine, we have stronger immunization against the virus and we don’t have to worry about it when playing in tournaments,” said Pierngadi.
Meanwhile, according to Melati Daeva Oktavianti, the World No. 4 mixed doubles player (partnering Praveen Jordan), said it’s no different from regular injections.
“It feels like an ant bite. It’s like a normal injection,” said Oktavianti with a laugh.
Everyone who got the vaccines on Friday will receive the second dose of the vaccine on March 12.
