Ten years after he started playing badminton, Oleksandr Chyrkov can finally savour his first title – the Spanish Para Badminton International I – which he won last month.
It couldn’t have happened in more memorable fashion, for the SL3 player beat Paralympic champion Kumar Nitesh and silver medallist Daniel Bethell on the way to the crown, with the final going an incredible 139 minutes. After falling in several semifinals and finals over the years, Chyrkov finally realised what it meant to go all the way.
“When I won my first title I felt pressure lift off my shoulders. I’d waited for this victory for 10 years with Dima Zozulia, my coach from Ukraine,” said Chyrkov, whose left leg disability was caused by a car accident when he was nine.
Chyrkov at Paris 2024.
“I was very happy that I was able to do this. We must have broken the record for the longest match in Para badminton. When the final match ended everyone applauded in the stands, all the judges applauded, it was an amazing feeling. I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
The title was affirmation that he was on the right track, having moved to Dallas last October to train with the Frisco Badminton Club under coach Abhishek Ahlawat.
“I didn’t believe it would happen at this tournament since I just started training at the new Frisco Badminton Club and there is a completely different approach to training and preparing athletes,” said the 28-year-old. “I was surprised to take the gold medal because I had to defeat the top three players in the world rankings.”
Following his campaign at Paris 2024, where he exited in the group stage, Chyrkov moved to Dallas, where he approached Frisco Badminton Club coach Abhishek Ahlawat, who had trained Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon to the SH6 silver medal at the Paralympics.
“I asked coach Abhishek if I could practice with the club. I knew him from the Paris Paralympics – his players got a silver in SH6 – and he told me I could practice with the team. We’ve been working hard on the physical and mental side. We watch all the games of my top opponents. I have to work hard every day, because without that you can’t beat the top players.”
Chyrkov marching towards a brighter future.
Heading to Toledo, Chyrkov hadn’t beaten Nitesh in their last seven encounters.
“I tried not to be crazy, just to wait and make him move and don’t make mistakes myself and don’t take risks,” Chyrkov recalls of their semifinal. “The previous tournament I’d lost to him, but then I changed my tactics and that made me happy as my confidence went up, because if I could beat Nitesh I could beat Bethell as well.
“Nitesh is a very good technical guy, he has such good skills, good defence and he’s tall so it’s difficult with him, because you need to play a lot of lobs and be ready as he can play good drop shots and smash. So you cannot relax and you have to wait for him to make mistakes, because he has a prosthetic and maybe for him it’s hard to move for long.”
Having made it past Nitesh in 51 minutes, Chyrkov found himself in an ultra-marathon with Bethell – this one going well past the two-hour mark.
“Bethell is also a difficult player, I’d never beaten him. He also doesn’t make mistakes. That’s why we play such long games. I told myself to wait and not make mistakes. He’s a bit like Nitesh, he’s also tall and has good skills and he’s smart.”
With his relocation and new training working well, Chyrkov’s confidence has shot up as he eyes his dream – gold at Los Angeles 2028.
“My dream is of course gold medal at the Paralympic Games. I’m preparing for Los Angeles because if I win it will be the first Para badminton medal for Ukraine. Maybe I can show people that if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can do everything.”
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