PBSI national mixed doubles head coach Rionny Mainaky revealed that the future of the Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari pair will be decided after they compete in the 2025 World Championships in Paris, France, from August 25-31.
The 2017 world junior champions have long been Indonesia's mainstay in the mixed doubles category. However, their performance hasn't been consistent enough to compete at the world's elite level.
"Since he (Rinov) took a break and said he felt stuck, I didn't comment much. I just asked if he still wanted to continue. If he did, he had to prove it at the upcoming World Championships with a good result, at least a semifinal finish," Rionny said in Cipayung, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Despite being ranked 35th in the world, they still received an invitation to appear in the 2025 World Championships.
Rionny said he would discuss the results and evaluation of Rinov/Pitha with the PBSI Development and Achievement Division (Binpres) after the tournament, including the possibility of changing the pairing or other policies if the results did not meet expectations.
"Binpres and I will talk after the World Championships. If the results aren't satisfactory, we'll definitely discuss whether overhauls or other measures are necessary. As the coach, I'll make suggestions, and Binpres will provide guidance," he said.
So far, Rinov/Pitha's best achievements at the senior level are winning the 2023 and 2024 Spain Masters, in addition to bronze medals at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games, and a world ranking of ninth at the end of 2022.
