His story is not necessarily known to everyone and yet it deserves to be because it is absolutely not banal but rather rare, endearing and beautiful. Of Indian origin, Murali was adopted late at the age of 23 by a family from Loire-Atlantique (Saint-Nazaire). Later, in 2006, he moved to Aix-en-Provence and discovered by chance a poster announcing the famous Aix UC international tournament. A fan of badminton, which he played in India from a very young age, he came to see this tournament and was immediately impressed by the number of participants and the organization itself. Motivated as ever, he immediately sent an email to the steering committee (to president Pierre Manuguerra and Gildas Lemaître) to join the club as a volunteer and thus help AUC Badminton in his own way. From the outset, he quickly joined the club’s steering committee as his help and qualities were invaluable, particularly in the field of logistics (he is a computer scientist by trade). And little by little, he developed a taste for competition by closely following the performances of the Aix UC I team. Very quickly, he accompanied them before taking the plunge and becoming co-captain, with Ronan Labar.
Available and always listening
We are in 2016-2017 and since that time, he has remained a faithful captain and model for all the players who play in this flag team. “Honestly, I see myself more as a logistician than as a captain. At the start of the story, I did not have sporting legitimacy, it was Ronan who held this legitimacy. Well now, when I speak to the players, I give them certain advice. Ronan told me that I had taken from the “bottle” and that my advice was the right one so I continue in this direction. But, more broadly, the AUC Badminton is quite simply my second family. I am a volunteer like any other and I do my bit by giving the best of myself. And this club is a big, beautiful family. I feel very good there and that’s the main thing!
Humble and passionate, Murali Billon has been in turn Vice-President, Treasurer with a very tight budget to maintain, a handyman always ready to be of service and to resolve certain problems inherent to sports clubs. A true linchpin, he works tirelessly on a daily basis around emblematic leaders such as Pierre Manuguerra, Philippe Ricard and Marielle Binet so that Aix UC Badminton combines conviviality and competition always in a good mood.
