You were the 2022 para-badminton* world champion and you are one of the favourites for the Paris Olympics, why para-badminton?
When I discovered para-badminton, it was like my heart told me that I had to do it. I love badminton, and it loves me too!
You also tried other sports before para-badminton, like volleyball or powerlifting… What memories do you have of this last discipline?
The most striking memory when I think of powerlifting is during a competition where I competed with able-bodied people. Despite my disability, I managed to win, it was one of my first successes of this kind in sport in general!
At the time when you were still training in Ukraine, before the war, how did you get media coverage? Did the newspapers talk about you?
When I won the Dubai International Tournament in 2021, yes, I became a little known, people were talking about me. But since I left, Ukrainian journalists follow me less, if at all! And many other Ukrainian athletes found themselves in the same situation as me, once they left the territory. It is surely because of the conflict, the situation is not easy for anyone.
How did you decide to leave Ukraine and come to France after the start of the Russian invasion?
This is something that we obviously had absolutely not anticipated! But luck would have it that during various international competitions, I became friends with a member of the French Badminton Federation, who deals with para-badminton. He was the one who suggested that I and my coach come, before the war began. At that time, we had refused.
But when the conflict started, our French friends again offered us, the entire Ukrainian para-badminton team, to come to France to train. They assured us that everything would be possible, that’s why we came.
It’s been two years now since you arrived, how are things going? Are you happy with your choice?
Yes! Everything is fine, I am very grateful, especially to the people who accompany us, who allow us to train as well as possible.
The downside, let’s say, is that of course, we are not really part of a club, so it is a bit complicated at times to have a room to train as much as we would like. In my case, I also lack sparring partners, even if I am aware that it is not easy to find.
But, honestly, we are on the detail at this level, we are above all very grateful.
You became world champion in Tokyo in November 2022, how did it go? How did you feel at the moment of victory?
This championship was very strange for me, especially in terms of emotions. Just before the start of the competition, I had a close friend who passed away. It was very hard.
I prayed a lot, I asked God to help me, and when I was on the field, I felt like he was next to me, supporting me. I felt like I was flying! And when I won, I didn’t realize it, it was extraordinary! I was so happy.
How is your preparation for the Paralympic Games going? Will you have been able to train enough to play for the gold medal?
I’m aiming for the title anyway, I’ll give my all for it, anything is possible! I’m very religious, God knows what I want and the efforts I’m making to achieve it. I believe in my chances.
How does your current situation, far from your country, affect you? Isn’t it too hard to keep hope?
I missed a lot of competitions, especially at the beginning of the conflict. That inevitably means that my opponents are ahead of me in the rankings, are better prepared… All that worried me quite a bit.
But I pulled myself together. Every morning I wake up to the Ukrainian anthem, and it gives me confidence in the future.
Have you ever thought about what happens after the Paralympic Games?
It’s obviously difficult to plan for that, but one thing is certain, I will continue with para-badminton. I’m also planning for non-sporting activities, starting a family…
- Oksana Kozyna, who has a leg deformity, plays with a carbon prosthesis in the SL3 category.
2024-07-05 08:30:41
#Oksana #Kozyna #love #parabadminton #loves
