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eijing Olympic bronze medalist Maria Kristin Yulianti has decided to hang up her beloved racket at 27-years-old due to a prolonged right-knee injury.

Feeling that her body would no longer be up for the challenge of competition, Maria called it quits.

She has now taken on the role of coach, training a group of 10 to 12-year-old female shuttlers at the PB Djarum badminton training center in Kudus, Central Java.

“I decided to quit [playing badminton] and began working as an assistant coach for young female players about a month ago,” she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

PB Djarum team manager Fung Permadi confirmed Maria’s role as a coach at the training center.

Maria said she could no longer force herself to compete after little progress was made in therapy to heal her knee.

“The doctor said I still could play. But, I could still feel the pain every time I trained. So, I’m not going to force it,” said Maria, adding that she had sustained the injury since 2004 or 2005.

Given her age, it’s a premature time for retirement. Most shuttlers retire at least over 30-years-old, like former world champion Taufik Hidayat, who just recently announced his retirement from professional play at 31 years old.

Maria said she did not regret retiring from badminton at such an early age.

“I’ve tried my best to treat my injury through medication. I also feel that I have achieved maximum results. So, it’s alright,” she said.

Maria was born in Tuban, East Java, on June 25, 1985.

Her last success came when she was a finalist in the Russian White Nights Challenge in 2011, where she lost to compatriot Fransiska Ratnasari in a three-set match.

In 2008, Maria won bronze at the Olympics in Beijing, in the women’s singles, beating China’s Lu Lan.

The 27-year-old was part of the Uber Cup team in 2010 that reached the semifinals, and a semifinalist in the 2009 Sudirman Cup in Guangzhou, China.

She won gold at the 2007 SEA Games by beating compatriot Adrianti Firdasari, who later went to London for the Summer Olympics five years later.

Being part of the Indonesian squad at the 2006 Uber Cup was Maria’s most disappointing appearance because she was still recovering from her injury and as a result, could not develop her own game, she said as quoted by PB Djarum’s official website.

Indonesia lost to China in the 2006 Uber Cup semifinals.

The 2003 Sudirman Cup in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, was one of Maria’s career highlights as Indonesia made it to the semifinals in the 2003 biennial event. “I could beat an English player whose world ranking was far above me at that time, and I could contribute points to the Indonesian team,” she said as quoted by PB Djarum’s website.