TN's Thulasimathi sacrifices studies, wins historic silver at Paris Paralympics

CHENNAI: Thulasimathi Murugesan, in her debut Paralympics, has made history by clinching a silver medal in the women's singles badminton SU5 category. The event, marked by a historic performance by Indian shuttlers, also saw Thulasimathi's fellow player from Tamil Nadu, 19-year-old Manisha Ramadass from Tiruvallur winning the bronze.

Thulasimathi, 22, who qualified for the final unbeaten by winning both her group-stage matches in straight sets, is the first Indian to reach the final of the women's badminton event. Her sister, Kiruttigha, speaking to DT Next, expressed the family's overwhelming pride and disbelief at the shuttlers' journey at the Paralympics.

The journey to Paris has not been easy for Thulasimathi, who is currently pursuing her third year in veterinary medicine at the Namakkal Veterinary College and Research Institute. "She has sacrificed two years of her studies to compete in the Paris Games. Over the past two years, she has participated in more than 15 tournaments to qualify," said Kiruttigha.

In 2023, during the Olympic qualifiers at the Brazil para-badminton championships, Thulasimathi secured a podium finish. However, little did anyone know that she had to skip her final semester exams to be there. "When she had to choose between exams and qualifiers, she opted for the qualifiers, stating she would give it her best because it was her lifelong dream to play in the Olympics," Kiruttigha added.

Balancing studies and badminton has been a challenging task for Thulasimathi. After returning from the Brazil qualifiers, she enrolled in the third year of her veterinary programme but had to skip the semester again to participate in 6 to 7 more qualifying tournaments.

A month's training

Thulasimathi had a demanding college schedule and trained every evening after her classes. "Her classes were from 9 am to 5 pm, and she trained from 6 pm to 8 pm," Kiruttigha said. Three hours of training before the world's largest sporting event was insufficient. That's when the Tamil Nadu government intervened, issuing an immediate Government Order (GO) to grant Thulasimathi a month-long leave from college to prepare for Paris. She trained at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad before the Olympics, boarded a flight, and the rest, as they say, is history.