Oksana Kozyna’s Paralympic debut brought an unexpected surprise, surpassing anything she could have imagined on the court.
The Ukrainian para badminton player, who grew up in an orphanage for disabled children in Dnipro, reunited with a former teacher just before her first singles match in the SL3 classification. The teacher, Svitlana Shabalina, had a profound impact on Kozyna’s early life and training.
Kozyna, who initially did not recognize Shabalina, expressed her astonishment upon realizing who she was. “It’s like a dream,” Kozyna told reporters Sunday evening.
Shabalina had moved to Sweden years ago, while Kozyna fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022. Now living in France with teammate Oleksandr Chyrkov and other Ukrainian athletes, Kozyna has been training for the Paralympics.
Kozyna, 29, has been a prominent figure in Ukrainian para badminton, earning silver at the 2017 European Championships and winning Ukraine’s first world para badminton championship in 2022.
Shabalina’s visit was not planned. Chyrkov, who had kept in touch with Shabalina, surprised her while she was training in Sweden. He invited Shabalina to watch the games, and she decided to attend just weeks before the event.
“Ever since the war began, we’ve been trying to find a way to do something meaningful,” Chyrkov said. “It really helped because a lot of Ukrainians came and supported us.”
Kozyna and Shabalina have spent recent days reflecting on how their lives have changed since their time at the orphanage. Kozyna had not seen Shabalina since before the war.
On Sunday, Kozyna faced her first loss in women’s singles, falling in straight sets to No. 1 seed Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh of Indonesia. She will compete against Nigeria’s Mariam Bolaji for the bronze medal on Monday.
Shabalina spoke warmly of Kozyna and Chyrkov, saying, “I loved what I did and my kids, because I really think they are like my own.”
