With her towering height of 178 cm – much taller than the majority of her countrywomen – Verawaty Fadjrin (née Wiharjo) was quite intimidating whenever she stepped onto the court during her active years in the late 1970s to late 1980s.

Verawaty was known for her attacking style – with a smash famous for its fast pace and accurate placement. While powerful, Verawaty’s chief asset was considered to be her competitive spirit and mental toughness.

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Verawaty competed in both singles and women’s doubles matches early in her career. In 1978, Verawaty won the Asian Games partnered with Imelda Wigoeno and, a year later, the prestigious All England. In singles, she won the 1980 edition of the IBF World Championships (now known as the BWF World Championships) in Jakarta – beating her teammate and rival Ivana Lie. 

Her “multitasking” competing style was particularly praised by Imelda – who shared that Verawaty often played both singles and women’s doubles during the women’s world team championship Uber Cup. 

“Sometimes we joked that if the rules had allowed it, Verawaty would have played three matches in one round [in the Uber Cup] and won all of them,” Imelda said, remembering her former partner fondly. 

In an interview with The Jakarta Post on Monday, Imelda noted Verawaty’s commitment while playing each variation of badminton – the singles, doubles and later mixed doubles. In Imelda’s eyes, Verawaty was always focused and responsible, as well as caring. 

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