Mum’s the word for 64-year-old badminton braveheart Svetlana Zilberman as she and her son Misha created history at the world championships recently in Tokyo.
At 25, Belarus-born Svetlana was considered too old to be picked for the Soviet Union’s team for the championships when she was in the prime of her career. Now, almost four decades later, she won a match at the sport’s highest stage and became the competition’s oldest-ever winner of a match when she teamed up with son Misha and won their first-round mixed doubles match recently.
“They said I was old when I was 25 – now I am a young woman,” Svetlana had told AFP then.
The duo defeated Egypt’s Adham Hatem Elgamal and Doha Hany 16-21, 21-18, 21-11.
The next player on the list is almost 20 years younger and Svetlana says she may even be back to try to update her record at next year’s tournament in Copenhagen.
“I’m still not tired from playing, so who knows,” she had said.
The duo bowed out of the championships in the second round with a 21-6, 21-5 loss to Malaysian number eight seeds Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing.
Svetlana and Misha Zilberman, the mother-son duo, play badminton against all odds
The Zilbermans, who both represent Israel, first teamed up as a way for Misha to prepare for his favoured men’s singles events.
Svetlana coaches her son and she could not find him a suitable partner so she took on the job herself, first appearing together at the world championships in 2009.
Misha said the arrangement keeps them both in shape and he described their first-round victory in Tokyo as “an amazing feeling”.
“My category is men’s singles and we play mixed doubles just to get the feeling, not focusing on the results,” he said.
“When we can win in mixed, it’s a good feeling and we are very happy.”
Misha said their relationship on court is “like any mixed doubles players”, with discussions on how to improve and swing the match in their favour.
Off the court, however, he said “she is my coach, so there is no discussion”.
Misha has appeared in men’s singles at the Olympics three times and he finished third at this summer’s European championships in Madrid.
Approaching his mid-30s, he could be forgiven for turning his thoughts towards retirement.
But inspired by his record-breaking mother, he plans to keep playing for the foreseeable future.
“My mum never retired, so you can think that about me also,” he said.
“I don’t see myself retiring.”
(Report from Tokyo by AFP)
Follow Scroll.in’s coverage of the BWF World Championships here.
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