Thulasimathi Murugesan had a birth deformity in her left hand, which allowed only 20-30 percent extension flexion, and often left her in shooting pain when a nerve flared up. Her father, an obsessive sports lover from Kancheepuram, however refused to tell her anything was wrong with her, and instead got her used to competing in badminton alongside able-bodied children, including elder sister, Kiruttigha.
The sisters even won the Khelo India Under-19 district doubles titles in open category, until one day, in wincing pain while watching an international tournament four years ago, Thulasimathi screamed at the TV and demanded to know, “If I work so hard, why am I not good enough to play an international event?”
The sombre answer explaining her condition would jolt her awake and the clarity gave her a direction.
Having grown up in desperate poverty, where their home, a straw hut, got burnt down in a fire, and all their father’s daily wages were saved up for nutrition for the two girls, she was determined to get herself classified in para-badminton, and seriously pursue Paralympics qualification. On Monday, she won India its first women’s podium at Paris in Para badminton. The 22-year-old lost to China’s Yang Qiu Xia in straight games 21-17, 21-10 in 30 minutes in the women’s singles SU5 final, but the medal at the biggest stage was vindication of the struggles and sacrifices Thulasimathi and her family have made over the years.
Murugesan loved sport and played basketball and athletics in school, but as one of seven children, he grew up subsisting on reheated Kanji water. He loved to coach different sports, and Thulasi grew up training over the 200m-800m distance. “Thulasi was born disabled,” sister Kiruttigha says, adding “But my father never wanted her to know she’s a para-player. She was given equal training, and worked harder than everyone else. We tried the Kerala ayurveda treatments but after that my father just decided she will play sports and not dwell on the disability.”
The girls would train from 4.30 am and spend many days not knowing if a lunch tiffin would arrive by noon. “Life was tough, we would overhear our parents talking about no ration. But they ensured that when we ate, we ate nutritious food. My dad was crazy about all sports and had decided we would become great athletes,” Kiruttigha recalls.
He did odd-jobs on film sets, helped with sports coaching, guided youngsters on career pathways, and dreamt of sport for his daughters. “We always had relatives mocking him because us girls were always on the ground. We were told nothing good would come of us. So we both studied very hard. Thulasi didn’t know about her condition, but would quietly endure pain. Then we started in badminton after a strong athletic base.” she explains.
How badminton was decided as the way forward is yet another interesting tale.
“Our dad would make us play basketball one day, table tennis another, and football on the third. He would ask at the end of the day, how we liked it. We obviously enjoyed them all, including kungfu. Only when it came to badminton, Thulasi complained that it’s too difficult and strokes will take time to learn. That’s it. Father decided the toughest, most challenging sport is what we will pursue and he will coach us,” Kiruttigha says. Broken racquets of senior players were searched, to be restrung.
Hardship toughens her
Thulasi’s dedication is out of this world. For years, raisins were the only sweet she’s tasted. The family saved up to watch a dubbed Dangal, and cried at the end, because it was a story of a father guiding his daughters to success.
“I remember her nerve impulse had flared up when Thulasi asked why she’s not good enough for internationals. But once she knew, her mind was made up.”
Pursuing her second year of veterinary studies, she needed to travel abroad and miss college. Coach Irfan scouting for Gopichand academy linked her up with the national coach, and his mother was especially decisive, declaring Thulasimathi would get the best training in Hyderabad. Olympic Gold Quest chipped in with travel and tournament expenses.
“She sacrificed one year of college, and had to repeat the year. But after that, the Tamil Nadu government had to intervene, pass an order to exempt her from mandatory attendance because in Vet courses, you can’t just take off. She had to get admitted to obscure Namakkal. The gym there was in bad shape. We had only seen Gopi sir as a chief guest and never dreamt he would invite Thulasi to train there. But Irfan sir made it happen and she went to Hyderabad,” Kiruttigha remembers.
A massive fan of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, whose videos she watches on YouTube, Thulasimathi was now at the same academy and thrilled to learn.
“Oh god, she would drive me crazy, keeping me awake to watch Saina or Sindhu strokes, and play them the next morning. If she could play a Prannoy Anna or Srikanth-like shot, that’s it, Thulasi would be happy the whole week. Now imagine she could speak to them. Gopi sir always checked if she was happy and told her she would win if she enjoyed,” Kiruttigha says.
Coach Irfan says the youngster was destined for greatness. “Because of her education and intelligence, she grasps the game very easily. The father had trained her well. We just gave her focus. She’s versatile, can attack, can defend, the IQ is very high,” he says of her net-rushes and jump-smashes.
The non-playing damaged arm poses a major challenge in body balance, especially when moving laterally left. “When moving sideways or front and back, the non-functioning arm’s an issue. But she moves very fast on court and is agile,” Irfan explained.
Moving on her backhand side was particularly disorienting. It’s what advanced fitness and coaching at the Gopichand academy focused on. “Her training has been very scientific. We don’t want her to think the left arm isn’t functional,” Irfan says.
It’s a fairytale her father Murugesan told Thulasimathi: of a woman who could win the biggest international medals. On Monday, she did.
