The joy of trainer L. Raju was understandable when his ward Thulasimathi Murugesan - the only Indian woman para shuttler to win a silver medal at the Paralympics - met him at the Gopichand Academy on her return from Paris.
“It has been an amazing story of grit and determination. I remember she was often crying in pain during the training sessions. I felt sorry for her our objective was to win medals at the highest level. We ensured the training continued,” recalls Raju in a chat with Sportstar.
Thulasimathi prevailed over compatriot Manisha Ramdass with a straight-game win in the semifinals to enter the gold medal match in Paris. Manisha went on to win the bronze medal in the women’s SU5 category.
“Well, when she joined me about two years ago, Thulasi was yet to win a medal. But, I am glad that after joining us (at Gopichand Academy), she won a gold, silver and bronze in the last Para Asiad,” said the 35-year-old Raju from Kadapa, who holds a post-graduate degree in Physical Education, Yoga, Strength and Conditioning, and now is doing his Doctorate.
Prior to the Paris Paralympic Games, Thulasi and doubles partner Manasi Joshi had clinched the silver medal in the BWF World Para Badminton World Championships in Thailand. This, Raju says, was a tribute to “her remarkable spirit”.
READ MORE | Paris 2024 Paralympics: Thulasimathi wins silver, Manisha bags bronze in women’s singles SU5
The coach went on to explain how a congenital deformity in her left hand resulted in the loss of a thumb as well as chronic ulnar neuritis and muscle atrophy. “In badminton, when you have a left hand handicapped, it is all the more difficult to play those forehand smashes. So, depending on her needs, we designed a Thulasi-centric training and physical conditioning programme including sand training, weight training and medicine balls which really worked wonders.”
“The sparring partners were regular players for Thulasi has to compete on full-courts,” he added.
In the final, the shuttler from Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram lost to China’s Xia Qui Yang 17-21, 10-21 and settled for silver.
“The biggest challenge for me was to ensure that the training load was near-perfect for overloading will lead to injuries which also mean late recovery and reducing it might not yield the results too. So, it was a very difficult balancing act and hats off to her she responded in style,” said Raju, who also guided para shuttler Manasi Joshi to World championship gold in 2019.
Raju also acknowledges the support provided by Pullela Gopichand, SAI athletics coach N. Ramesh, and Rajender, who is another coach at the academy. He also goes on to say how the support from Gopichand’s mother, Subbaravamma, allowed Thulasi to focus on her training.
“I feel that after a certain stage once an athlete masters the basics and skills, the focus has to be more on fitness and unless one maintains that, it is never easy to be consistent even if you have the game,” Raju said.
“I have a few more para shuttlers and the dream is to produce more Paralympics medallists,” signed off an immensely satisfied trainer.
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