In exile in Hungary since the invasion of her native country by Russia in February, Ukrainian badminton player Maria Ulitina told AFP on Tuesday at the world championships in Tokyo that concentrating on sport “is very difficult when you no longer have a home”.
When Russian missiles flew over her home in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine, in February, the 58th player in the world was not at the Uganda Open like some of her fellow badminton players, but at home.
She then had to flee and drive for four days in a row to reach the Hungarian border, with only her dog and the minimum necessary.
Six months later, she still lives in exile, and bears witness to the impact of this situation on her mental health from Tokyo, where she was beaten by Croatian Martina Repiska in the first round of the world championships (21-16, 12 -21, 21-17).
Ulitina was the only Ukrainian representative qualified in women’s singles for the competition, with five other of her compatriots taking part (one player in men’s singles, one men’s doubles, and one women’s doubles).
“I don’t want to complain, but psychologically it’s very difficult when you don’t have a home and you don’t know where you will end up the next day,” said the 30-year-old. “It’s tough mentally and financially,” she added.
Having already lived in Hungary, Ulitina was able to benefit from a residence permit. She has decent living and training conditions, but finds it hard to concentrate on badminton as war still rages in Ukraine.
She manages to speak regularly with members of her family still in the country, but fears that the front line is progressing towards the west, where her relatives are.
Ulitina continued to play international tournaments this season, including the English Open in March, where she made a surprise appearance less than a week after fleeing to Hungary.
“I fled two or three days before the start of the tournament, and I had no visa, nothing,” she recalls. “I thank the English badminton federation which turned to the government so that I could come”.
Since the start of the war, Ulitina has had no news of her Russian friends.
Russian badminton players have been banned from international competitions, and Ulitina says she is “unable to imagine” what a match against them might look like.
“I had friends in Russia before. But since the beginning of the war, no one has written to tell me anything: how are we, or that they are sorry for the war. Nothing.”, explained the Dnipro native. “It’s really disappointing on their part.”
