Inspired by the unexpected presence of her “second mother” from the orphanage she grew up in, Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna kept her quarterfinals hopes alive in women’s singles SL3 after saving two match points.

Down 19-20 and 20-21 against Manasi Girishchandra Joshi, the 2022 world champion managed to keep her nerves under control and edge her Indian opponent 10-21 21-15 23-21.

“My teacher from the orphanage, she’s like my mother… she is here. I was so surprised to see her here. It was a secret and I didn’t know until I saw her,” Oksana gushed after her memorable victory.

The teacher, Svetlana, taught craft at the orphanage’s school, where Oksana’s current teammate Oleksandr Chyrkov also studied. Kozyna and Chyrkov spent 17 years together at the orphanage and are now at the first Paralympics – Kozyna’s first and Chyrkov’s second.

Born with a disability in her left leg, Kozyna spent 15 years in the special needs orphanage. She has fond memories of her time there.

“I lived in the orphanage for 15 years; it was good for me and I was very happy. Because family sometimes is good and sometimes bad, but in the orphanage they helped with everything, such as clothes, playing sports, and going on holidays. I didn’t see my family for 15 years, but now I’m on good terms with them,” she said.

It was a good day for Ukraine, with Chyrkov also winning his match, against New Zealand’s Wojtek Czyz 21-16 21-10. Chyrkov is in difficult Group B, with Daniel Bethell and Daisuke Fujihara.

Chyrkov too was thrilled to see his former teacher, but unlike Kozyna, he has been in touch with her over the years.

“She was our craft teacher in school when I was young. I haven’t seen her in three years,” said Chyrkov. “I was so happy because many people have come to see me and support me. She and her husband are very nice. They live in Sweden now.”

Kozyna next plays Indonesia’s Syakuroh Qonitah Ikhtiar for the top spot in Group A and a place in the quarterfinals.

The win was emotional as Joshi had beaten Kozyna the last three times.

“I want to cry,” said Kozyna. “This is very good because I lost to her many times, and today I won. I prayed to God because I wanted to win for Ukraine. In the first game I was very nervous, my heart was beating wildly. So I told myself to relax and get my heart rate down. In the next two games I was able to calm down.

“I want to make history for Ukraine. Ukraine doesn’t have good badminton players, and I’m one of the few. This is good for the future generation of Ukraine. Maybe they will read about me and get inspired to play badminton. I would like to motivate them.”

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