SINGAPORE — Any doubts over her gender may have been quashed by the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) medical committee, but Indonesian women’s volleyball player Aprilia Manganang has revealed the controversy had affected her self-esteem.

Yesterday, the SEAGF medical committee rejected an official complaint by the Philippines Volleyball Federation, which had expressed doubts over Manganang’s gender.

This came after protests had been submitted by several team officials in the SEA Games volleyball competition, including those from the Philippines and Malaysia, who urged the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) to conduct a gender check on Manganang, whose masculine looks, physique and strength had led to the controversy.

But their protests have been “rejected” by the SEAGF’s medical committee who “reviewed the documents submitted by the Indonesian volleyball team”, SINGSOC said in a statement released yesterday.

However, that did not prevent verbal abuse from sections of the crowd during the Philippines-Indonesia women’s team match at the OCBC Arena Hall 2 yesterday, as boos rained down on Manganang.

Indonesia won the match 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-14), but Manganang looked visibly overwhelmed yesterday as she was swamped by media and fans after the match, and subsequently ran off to board the team bus after she gave an interview.

“If the authorities want me to take a test, I’ll do it,” she said in Bahasa Indonesia. “Even before the Games started, a lot of countries started to protest, but I prepared myself for it mentally… These kind of incidents made me question my self-worth.

“Not many people have this kind of life, where everywhere you go you have to face challenges. I thought I probably wouldn’t get paid because this (playing volleyball) is my sole income to help my family, but thank God my team trusts and believes in me.”

Philippine Volleyball Federation president Jose Romasanta accepted the verdict of the SEAGF medical committee, but remained critical of the matter.

“So she is here on the basis that she has played in previous tournaments (for Indonesia), and of course I disagreed because the rules may be different (in other tournaments) and others probably never contested,” he said. “There has to be a better way to verify this in a proper manner. I understand the Olympics has a better and faster way (for a gender check). We just want to clear the air once and for all.”

Among those who attended yesterday’s match was Filipino fan Kerby Alvarez. But she insisted the protests were justified.

“I don’t think that we (as fans) are being overboard,” she said. “There are tempers and emotions in a game, and this is the first time the Philippines has sent a (women’s) volleyball team to the SEA Games since 2005.

“We hope Indonesia can level the playing field. There is talk she is a transgender, and she needs to prove she is not.”

Indonesian women’s team captain Amalia Fajirina told TODAY the Filipino players had taunted Manganang and the rest of the team at their Marina Mandarin Hotel, which is where the volleyball teams are staying.

“Whenever we bumped into them, they asked us in a rude tone if she is male or female,” said Amalia, 21.

“Aprilia is female, and this is not good sportsmanship. We should let the authorities handle it. Aprilia cried last night in the hotel, and we tried to cheer her up and tell her to stay positive. We have been training and staying together as a team, and we know she is a girl like the rest of us.”